


Somebody's Gotta Tell Him

by AClosedFicIsNeverRead



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Awesome Sheriff Stilinski, De-Aged Derek Hale, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, F/M, Good Alpha Derek Hale, Non-Evil Peter Hale, Pack Feels, Peter Hale Ships It, Peter Hale is a Little Shit, Pregnancy, Protective Pack, Stiles Stilinski is a Nice Thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:49:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 43,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28292649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AClosedFicIsNeverRead/pseuds/AClosedFicIsNeverRead
Summary: “Are you okay? Did something happen?” Derek asked, his grip on the phone tightening.Stiles gave a humorless laugh. “You could say that…” she muttered unhappily, more to herself than him. Taking a breath, she asked in a voice that was entirely too small for her boisterous personality, “You really don’t remember anything?”“Why? What should I be remembering?” He racked his brain for clues. He remembered finding it odd that his clothes had smelled so much like her when he woke, but he figured she must have been trying to haul him up or turn him over after he collapsed. “Stiles? What’s wrong?” he pressed determinedly.She let out a groan of exasperation before finally saying, wearily and with a confusing tone of resignation, “Just… forget it. It’s fine, Der. Don’t worry about it. Go back to trying to get your head on straight, okay? I’ll just… I’ll talk to you later.”The call disconnected, and Derek stared down at the phone with a growing feeling of unease.Why did he get the feeling he was missing something huge?– OR –The one where Derek returns to normal after spending a few months de-aged and slowly discovers that he and Stiles had grown a whole lot closer.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 101
Kudos: 633





	1. Chapter 1

It took an embarrassingly long time for Derek to identify that the odd, unfamiliar chirping sound he was hearing was actually a phone ringing. He looked around in confusion and searched for the source, surprised to find a cordless phone sitting in a base unit in the corner.

 _Since when did he have a landline in the loft? God, he had missed so much_.

He shook his head as he glanced down at the caller ID. Taking a deep breath, he answered.

“Stiles?” he asked in uncertainty. His brows drew together a second later as he asked in bewilderment, “Wait – is that seriously how you spell your first name?” 

She laughed and chose to ignore the question as she greeted, “Derek.”

“Hey,” he sighed and ran a hand over the back of his head, scratching at his scalp.

 _Since when did Stiles call him? This was possibly the first time he had ever heard her voice over the phone_.

“I… uh… haven’t seen you around since…” He trailed off with a frown. Blinking in an attempt to focus his thoughts, he asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Um… well. That’s kind of up for debate?” she said with a nervous laugh. “Have you remembered anything about the past few months?”

Derek frowned at the anxiousness in her voice. “No, nothing,” he answered honestly, shaking his head out of reflex. “I remember Kate shooting me… I think she was a were-jaguar? Then, it’s just blank until I woke up in the preserve last week.”

“Oh.” Stiles answered simply – trying and failing to sound unaffected. Her voice was strained and heavy with defeat.

Derek winced, knowing his answer had upset her, although he could not even begin to guess why. “I uh… have a few flashes of memory from when I came to,” he went on, not having much to add, but wanting to keep talking to her. There was a strange, overwhelming sense of panic coiling in his gut at the thought of her hanging up, of losing the connection to her. “I think… you were there? You were asking me questions?” He closed his eyes and tried for the millionth time that week to get his muddled mind to cooperate. “Or wait… maybe I was asking _you_ something?” He growled in frustration before shaking his head and opening his eyes. “It’s really hard to remember,” he admitted in disappointment. “But then Scott was there, and you were gone. He said you were the one who called him…”

Derek stopped to consider that, wondering why Stiles had left. Why he had not seen her when he woke up at the animal clinic or at any point since. Not that he had really seen anyone since that day, for all the good it did. On Deaton’s advice, everyone had given him space while he tried to reacclimate and get his thoughts in order. The druid believed Derek’s memories would return, and that it could be overwhelming for his mind to try and reconcile two sets of 16-year-old memories and experiences.

And so, Derek had waited. And waited. _And waited_. And while no memories had resurfaced, he did note a significant lack of mental clarity and a general feeling of instability, as if he were unsure of what was real. He found himself regularly counting his fingers and recalling Stiles’ reassuring voice. His thoughts were jumbled and confused. The silence of the loft which had always provided comfort, now felt horribly wrong. Empty and isolating. His entire body ached with a constant feeling of intense, nameless longing. For what, he had no idea. From the moment he had changed back, his wolf had been restless and agitated, pacing endlessly inside him as if frantically searching for something, but for the life of him, he could not remember what.

But wait… he was getting off track again. He had been puzzling over something just now. What was it? Oh, right – why had Stiles left? Why had she disappeared when Scott came to get him in the Preserve? A thought suddenly occurred to him and his breath caught in his throat. What if she had been hurt?

“Are you okay? Did something happen?” he asked, his grip on the phone tightening. His wolf was instantly surging within him, snarling, and pressing outward against its confines, eager to take control.

Stiles gave a humorless laugh. “ _You could say that_ …” she muttered unhappily, more to herself than him. Taking a breath, she asked in a voice that was entirely too small for her boisterous personality, “You really don’t remember anything?”

Derek nearly whined pitifully in time with his wolf. He was really starting to get worried now. “Why? What should I be remembering?”

He racked his brain for clues. He remembered finding it odd that his clothes had smelled so much like her when he woke, but he figured she must have been trying to haul him up or turn him over after he collapsed.

“Stiles? What’s wrong?” he pressed determinedly.

She let out a groan of exasperation before finally saying, wearily and with a confusing tone of resignation, “Just… forget it. It’s fine, Der. Don’t worry about it. Go back to trying to get your head on straight, okay? I’ll just… I’ll talk to you later.”

The call disconnected, and Derek stared down at the phone with a growing feeling of unease.

_Why did he get the feeling he was missing something huge?_


	2. Chapter 2

Lydia, Allison, Cora, Erica, Malia, and Kira all arrived at Stiles’ front door later that afternoon. None of them had any idea why they had been summoned for an ‘Emergency Pack Females’ meeting, or why they had been sworn to secrecy about the whole thing. But then, this was Stiles, and they were used to not knowing what was going through her mind.

“She said we should just head on in when we get here,” Kira advised.

“Stiles?” Allison called as they entered the house. “We’re here.”

“Hey, guys…” Stiles greeted anxiously from the top of the stairs, watching them file into the living room and close the front door.

“I was eating,” Malia complained. “I’m still hungry. I came, so you have to feed me now.”

“Yeah. Sure thing,” Stiles agreed, sounding distracted.

After a moment, she reluctantly started down the stairs at a snail’s pace, carefully watching Cora, Erica, and Malia’s reactions. She needed to know just how screwed she already was here.

“Hey, stranger. Where you been h–?” Erica began to joke but trailed off abruptly when Stiles was not even halfway down the steps.

Cora, Erica, and Malia’s eyes all flashed at the same time. Their nostrils flared as they breathed in deeply. And just as quickly, their eyes locked on Stiles’ stomach.

“Fuck.” Stiles huffed and closed her eyes in defeat.

“Oh… my God,” Cora gasped.

“Yeah.” Stiles agreed.

“You’re –” Malia began, pointing at her stomach.

“I’m aware.” Stiles assured flatly.

“Holy _fuck_ , is it my…?” Cora demanded shrilly with wide eyes.

“It is.” Stiles confirmed.

“Does _he_ …?” Erica screeched.

“No.” Stiles answered.

“Oh my God.” Cora repeated.

“Oh my God.” Erica and Malia agreed.

Lydia, having watched this exchange, suddenly went rigid in understanding. Her cherry red lips parted in astonishment as she breathed, “Oh. My. GOD.”

“I know!” Stiles whined.

“Whaaaat is happening?” Kira asked worriedly, but as she and Allison took in the way the other four were staring at Stiles’ stomach, they both quickly caught on.

“Oh my God!” Allison and Kira both shouted.

Stiles plastered on a sarcastic smile and clasped her hands in front of her in feigned composure. “Well, I am certainly glad we are all in agreement that my current predicament requires intervention from a higher power…” she began calmly, only to devolve into screaming and flailing, “…because I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

“Okay. Okay. This is fine. We can handle this.” Lydia began, running a hand over her hair to smooth it, calming herself so that she could calm Stiles. Taking a breath, she exhaled and regained control, instantly the personification of poise. She tilted her head and batted her long lashes, smiling sweetly as she asked, “So, it is –?”

Stiles nodded quickly and answered before Lydia could even finish the question. “Yeah. Yup. Uh huh. It is 100% for sure definitely his,” she confirmed, looking ready to burst with anxiety.

“Well, yeah, no shit!” Erica snorted, glancing around incredulously as she pointed out, “It’s not like he would have let anyone else get close enough to do it.”

The girls all nodded with wide eyes, muttering their agreement.

“But wait… he still doesn’t remember anything about the past few months?” Kira asked, wincing sympathetically.

“Nada,” Stiles confirmed as she played with her fingers frantically, repeatedly dragging them together before roughly twisting and pulling them apart in an effort to fend off a panic attack. She laughed a bit hysterically as she rambled, “Which is hella inconvenient since Deaton – _the prick_ – said that Derek would most likely retain all of his memories when he eventually turned back. Which, you know, would have made this entire thing a whole lot less awkward. But Derek very definitely does not remember the two of us spending the past few months joined at the hip. Nor does he remember that he made a VERY convincing and compelling argument last month for why the two of us should just give in and resolve all the suffocating UST between us. And he will most certainly not recall that I said, ‘ _I’m on birth control. Are you sure that’s going to be enough?_ ’ to which he replied, ‘ _It’ll be fine, baby…_ ’” Her voice took on a shrill tone that caused the weres to flinch as she shouted, “When it was very clearly _NOT FINE!_ Because werewolf sperm is apparently immune to contraception and my traitorous uterus waved those bad boys in there like air traffic control! And… OH GOD… Yeah. I am freaking out!”

Lydia and Allison stepped forward quickly, each taking a side and steadying Stiles as she panicked.

“Breathe, Stiles. Come on. Breathe with me,” Allison coached.

Cora had leaned forward at some point during Stiles’ rant and put her hands on her knees. She was currently following along with Allison’s voice and taking deep breaths to calm herself.

“Oh, man. Your Dad is so gonna shoot him!” Malia snorted, head lulling back as she smiled.

Lydia’s head whipped around. She leveled Malia with a glare that wiped the smile right off her face as she hissed through clenched teeth, “ _Not_. _Helping_.”

“What does a born-wolf baby even look like?” Erica asked in confusion, oblivious to the effect her words would have. “Is it gonna be furry? Are you having a pup, Stiles?” Her eyes widened hopefully as she squealed, “Ooh – or a _litter_? Aww, it could be a whole pile of fluffy, little Derek wolf puppies! Just think of their very first little _awoo_ ’s!”

“Awwwwww!” Kira cried involuntarily and clutched her chest, eyes tearing up at the cuteness of that mental image.

Stiles let out a strangled sounding screech in response.

Erica yelped when Cora punched her in the shoulder.

“Shut up!” Cora growled. “It’s just like any other baby. It’s no more likely to be multiples than any other pregnancy. And the shift won’t happen for years – if it even is a wolf. There were plenty of humans born in our family. Although…” She considered it for a second, then shrugged as she said, “With Derek being a born-wolf Alpha who can also fully shift into a wolf… yeah, chances are pretty damned high the kid’s gonna take after him.” She turned her attention back to Stiles. Even as her features softened, her words remained sharp as ever. “Holy fuck, Stiles. What are you gonna do?”

Despite Lydia’s protests, Stiles flopped down directly onto the floor on her ass, too overwhelmed to bother making her way over to the couch.

“I don’t know, Cor,” Stiles answered. “Because on one hand – I am totally aware that I have the right to choose. So, there’s a part of my brain that is like, ‘It’s still super early. It’s basically still just a cluster of cells with a ton of potential. I could put a stop to it before it ever turns into a little person.’ And then Derek wouldn’t even have to know. He could continue on as he does, glaring at me from a distance, blissfully unaware of his younger-self’s actions. I could stay away for the next year, so he doesn’t end up finding out, then move out of Beacon Hills after I graduate. Sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan, right?”

She swallowed hard as she looked down at her still-flat stomach, placing a hand over it as if to shield its current resident from those thoughts. Her voice was softer as she went on.

“But then… it’s like… This is a _Hale_. It’s a _Stilinski_. This is a part of Derek and me. It’s part of my Mom and my Dad. It’s part of your parents and Laura and all other family members you guys lost. It’s your blood, Cora – and yours, Malia. It’s even Peter’s blood…” She rolled her eyes as she declared, “…which I will try my very best not to hold against it. And it’s… it’s the first baby in our pack.”

All of the girls felt the weight of those words – the desire for their unborn pack member to arrive, healthy and strong, and to be surrounded by the love and protection of its pack.

Stiles sniffled. “And… I just can’t imagine any universe where I would be okay with getting rid of it. But if I don’t… then I have to tell Derek. I have to look up into his perpetually grumpy face and say, ‘We totally got **all kinds** of busy when you were 16. My bad.’ I have literally no idea how he is going to take this. Because he won’t remember that it wasn’t just some quick thing. That it wasn’t just sex. That we were together every single day for months beforehand. That there were legit feelings involved. He’s just going to feel like…” Her voice broke. “…like someone fucking _manipulated_ him again. And I never, ever wanted to make him feel like that.”

Her face fell and she allowed herself a full minute to just let it out and ugly cry over all of her regret and fear of how this could affect him. He was going to feel used and betrayed, as if she had taken advantage of him. God, if only he had _remembered_. She shook her head and gritted her teeth against the agony inflicted by that useless hope.

Stuffing it all back down, she cleared her throat. She inhaled choppily and dried her tears with her sleeve, thanking Lydia for the tissues she handed over. She blew her nose before forcing herself to continue.

Her voice swiftly returned to its original frantic pitch as she returned to her rant. “And then… a part of my brain is like, ‘Maybe I won’t say anything. I could move to the other side of the country and change my name and have the baby. That is in no way a complete overreaction or me taking the coward’s way out to avoid confronting him.’ Then I could have the baby, and not force Derek to go through all of this when he – adult Derek, at least – never consented to it. But then I’m like, ‘ _WOW_ , how completely selfish of me would that be? To just go off and have his kid without him even knowing? When family is obviously so crucial to him? And then what’s to stop him from accidentally finding out when the kid is like 14 or something?’ Because you freaking know he would! I’d walk into the grocery store one day and he’d just be standing there, _Derek-freaking-Hale_ -ing it up in the produce department of a random Winn Dixie somewhere in Nowheresville USA. Because that’s how my luck goes! And then he’d hate me even _more_ than he undoubtedly already will! And I’m… I’m… I’m…” She trailed off for a moment before abruptly freezing, nodding to herself, and declaring, “Yeah, I am definitely gonna puke.”

Stiles scrambled to her feet and raced to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

The rest of the girls stood around staring at one another in shock for a moment.

Malia broke the silence (aside from the sounds of Stiles throwing up), by announcing, “I’m going to raid her fridge.” 


	3. Chapter 3

Derek turned onto Stiles’ street and took a steadying breath to calm his nerves. Honestly, he was not entirely sure he should be driving, but he had not been able to shake the urge to go over to her house. He originally planned to make the trip on foot, cutting through the Preserve as he had done countless times. However, his wolf had been a bit _too keen_ on that idea for his comfort. His wolf was always stronger when he was out in the forest and he did not trust himself to reach his destination without involuntarily shifting.

Given that it was mid-day, he was planning to use the front door for a change to check up on Stiles. Without an imminent threat or the cover of night, he was not going to risk being seen climbing through the bedroom window of the Sheriff’s minor daughter.

When her house finally came into view, his brows drew together in bafflement.

Her driveway and the street out front of her house were full of cars. Not just any cars. Cars belonging to several of the female members of the pack. And while part of him was relieved to know she was not alone; the other part was more than a little freaked out.

Not wanting to risk being seen, he did not even slow down as he drove by.

________________________________________________________

After Stiles’ stomach settled down, the girls all sat together in the kitchen. Stiles was steadfastly trying to ignore the sound of Malia scarfing down leftovers.

Lydia took a seat beside Stiles and asked, “What can we do right now that will help you?”

“Can you help me decide what to do?” Stiles whimpered.

Lydia tilted her head to the side and gave Stiles a sympathetic, yet serious look. “It is no one else’s choice to make. Not ours. Not Derek’s. Not your father’s. This is _your_ decision.”

“I know,” Stiles groaned. “But like… how about this? How about you all say what you would do if you were in my position? And then I can make my own decision after that?”

“You don’t have to decide today,” Lydia said gently, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind Stiles’ ear. She studied her eyes as she asked, “You know that, right?”

Stiles nodded. “I know… but I’ve sorta already been privately freaking out for a few days. I literally found out about this three days after he changed back – how fucked up is that? And if I don’t make a decision soon I swear my head is going to burst.”

Lydia gave Stiles’ hand a squeeze of support. She glanced around at the group and, after everyone had nodded, she answered, “Alright. We can tell you what we would do. If I was in your position… I, personally, would tell him.”

“I’d tell him,” Allison agreed.

“I’d tell him, too,” Kira said.

“I would _absolutely_ tell him he’s my baby Daddy,” Erica said with a grin, reaching out and shaking Stiles’ knee excitedly. “Go get you some of that full-grown Alpha, girl!”

Stiles snorted. “As if it would be that simple, but thank you, Erica.”

Malia shrugged, not understanding why this was such a big deal. “I’d just go near him. His wolf will know. You won’t have to talk. Talking is overrated.”

“Huh.” Stiles breathed, intrigued. Her brows drew together as she considered the animal perspective. It was true that the human side of things was, by comparison, terribly overcomplicated. “Thank you, Malia. I truly appreciate your earthy, coyote wisdom.”

Malia grinned proudly.

“I vote for telling him,” Cora said, waiting for Stiles to meet her gaze. “I mean you should be fully prepared for the fact that he’s probably going to be a major butthead about it at first. He’ll blame himself as if he did something wrong… and get himself all worked up and emotional and broody. But he’ll come around once he has time to process it.”

“Damn it,” Stiles sighed in defeat. She had already realized that telling him was the only viable option but hearing the unanimous agreement from the others made it all the more real. “Alright. I guess that’s settled. Now I just have to work up the courage to actually pull it off.” She pouted for a moment. “Well, thank you all for coming over. I’ll text to let you know when I’m going to drop the bomb.”

Sensing Stiles’ turbulent emotions, Allison spoke up. “You know… We could make this like a ‘ _girls’ weekend in_ ’ if you want,” she suggested.

“Yeah, we could totally take over your living room!” Erica cheered.

“Oh, Dad will love that,” Stiles snorted before holding up a finger as her expression turned serious. “And – as if I even need to say this – he doesn’t know, so be sure to keep a lid on it.”

“Absolutely,” Kira agreed. She grinned as she said excitedly, “This could be really fun! We can all bring blankets and pillows, load up on snacks and watch movies. And you can decide when you want to be down here talking with us or when you want to be upstairs alone.” Her smile faded as she held up her hands and said, “OH! But, I mean, it’s totally your call, though! No pressure.”

The others chimed in that they were up for it if Stiles was interested.

Stiles considered it before deciding that she liked the option of alternating between venting, distracting herself, and hiding alone under the covers in her bed.

“Okay…” Stiles said quietly, then nodded and cleared her throat. Her voice was back to its usual strength as she said, “Okay, yeah. Let’s do it. And make sure it’s known that this is a ‘no guys allowed’ weekend. I mean, I would say invite Danny… but he is like, the world’s biggest gossip. It would _physically_ _pain_ _him_ to know this and not be allowed to say anything to Ethan.”

“Oh, definitely,” Lydia agreed. “And then Ethan would tell Aiden, naturally. And then Aiden would tell Jackson because they are two troublemaking peas in a pod. And from there, everyone would know in less than five minutes flat. Honestly, once it’s out in the open, I bet you Danny will thank you for _not_ telling him.”

“And shit, I can’t tell Scotty yet, either.” Stiles groaned at that. “Oh, he is gonna be so pissed at me. But seriously? He flat out SUCKS at keeping anything hidden! You know damned well that he would walk into the loft, trying to act nonchalant. He would glance over at Derek all nervous. Derek would arch one of his trademark growly-brows – because you know Derek would literally smell the guilt coming off of Scott in waves. And Scott would roll right over, show his belly, and spill all my secrets like the fragile little man-puppy we all know he is!”

Allison smiled and shook her head, knowing damned well it was true. “Just remind him that you chose to spare him that exact scenario and I’m sure he’ll forgive you instantly,” she chuckled. “Alright, so we’ll all go get our stuff, make a grocery run, and then meet back here. Sound good?”

Stiles nodded before something occurred to her. “Ooh, hey… do me a favor? Before you guys go anywhere else, can you go home first to get changed and shower? And like… **SCRUB**.” Her eyes went wide for added emphasis. “And Febreze the shit out of your cars. I don’t want my scent on any of you tipping any of the guys off if you run into them.”

“How about we all go clean up together?” Erica suggested. “Then me, Cora, and Malia can do sniff checks on everyone to make sure there’s nothing lingering.”

The others nodded that it was a good plan and stood, gathering their purses and phones before heading toward the door. Stiles turned when she noticed that Cora had not made a move to leave.

“Cor?” she asked in confusion.

Cora looked up at her with her eyes glowing. “I’m… having… a hard time.”

Stiles blinked in surprise. “With…?”

“ _Leaving_ ,” Cora answered through clenched fangs as her face shifted.

Stiles frowned, glancing between Cora and the rest of the group. None of the others were acting any differently. Suddenly, Stiles’ eyes widened in understanding. The baby was not just pack to Cora – it was _family_. Which – in Cora’s personal experience – meant it was far more at risk than anyone else.

“Oh!” Stiles breathed. “This is an instinct thing, isn’t it?”

Cora nodded and winced, fighting to form words. “My wolf… doesn’t want… to leave you here… unprotected.”

“Um… okay. That’s okay!” Stiles reassured, holding up her hands. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. If your wolf needs to be here, you’re more than welcome to stay.” Stiles turned to the other girls and waved them off. “You guys go on ahead. Cora’s fine here.”

After the door was closed and locked, Cora felt herself starting to relax. Slowly, she managed to get her breathing under control and shifted back to fully human features.

“Welcome back,” Stiles teased with a warm smile. “I guess it’s good to know that – no matter how this plays out – Auntie Cora will gladly rip out throats to protect the little munchkin,” she joked, then froze as her eyes went wide. “Oh. _Wow_ ,” she managed hoarsely.

Cora’s eyes watered as she smiled up at Stiles. “Yeah. _Wow_.”

Stiles tilted her head to the side. “Huh. It just occurred to me… I’m really doing this, aren’t I? Like… This is really happening?”

Cora reached over and took her hand. “It’s really happening. And it’s gonna be okay. You’ll see.”


	4. Chapter 4

Confusion at an all-time high, Derek returned to the loft fully expecting it to be empty. After all, for the past week, it had been. Not today, however.

He exited his car and frowned at the other vehicles parked outside his building. After a week-long break, it seemed that – at least the male members of the pack – had decided his period of recovery had come to an end. He heard the heartbeats and caught their scents long before he made his way upstairs. When he pulled open the door, he found Scott, Jackson, Isaac, Boyd, Aiden, Ethan, and Danny already set up in the main room playing video games, lounging, and eating junk food.

Another change in the past few months – the loft had become insanely teenager friendly. He knew he had his younger-self to thank for the massive flat screen TV and numerous gaming consoles. He also knew that every pack member present had a hand in cheering on those purchases. 

“Hey, Derek!” Scott greeted happily, barely looking away from the screen. “Feeling back to normal yet?”

Derek gave a noncommittal grunt in reply.

“What’s with the face?” Ethan asked.

“What face?” Derek asked distractedly.

“You look like you just sucked on a lemon,” Aiden laughed.

Isaac studied Derek’s expression with a suspicious frown. “Yeah, I know we haven’t seen you at this age in a while, but you are definitely scowling even more severely than usual.”

“What did Stilinski do?” Jackson asked knowingly.

Derek blinked in surprise, wondering why that was his first assumption.

“Something up?” Boyd asked, sounding far more genuine in his concern than his other Betas.

“No. Not really. Just…” Derek’s brow furrowed. “The girls are all over at Stiles’ house. I was…” He paused, not wanting to admit he had been hoping to see Stiles alone. “…driving by and saw all the cars outside. It just struck me as… odd.”

“They’re probably just catching up,” Danny offered with a shrug.

“Yeah, Stiles hasn’t exactly been available these past few months,” Isaac said, smiling to himself as he kicked Scott’s ass in the game they were playing.

“Really?” Derek asked, frowning. “Why not?”

The room froze.

Everyone went completely rigid.

The game was paused, leaving the room silent.

Derek was startled by the severity of their intense reaction.

One by one, they all slowly turned to look up at Derek in surprise.

“What?” Derek asked apprehensively, eyes darting around to each of their startled faces.

“ _Uhhh_ …” Boyd tried, looking around at his pack mates with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Isaac slid down in his seat unhelpfully, avoiding eye contact.

Danny’s expression shifted to bewilderment. “You mean… you still don’t remember?”

Derek crossed his arms over his chest, jaw flexing impatiently. “Remember what?”

“You guys didn’t tell him the first _day_?!” Ethan blurted out in surprise.

“He wasn’t exactly lucid,” Boyd offered defensively.

“And you know we weren’t supposed to –” Isaac stopped abruptly, glancing over at Scott.

Scott pressed his lips together and hunched down guiltily, actively avoiding Derek’s suspicious gaze.

Jackson scoffed. “I didn’t think any of you tools actually went along with that shit! Otherwise, I would have already told him myself!”

“I honestly can’t believe he hasn’t remembered on his own by now,” Aiden laughed, holding up his hands.

“I’m gonna tell him,” Jackson declared with a nod, sitting up in barely contained glee.

Scott glared over at Jackson in warning, earning a punch to his shoulder from Ethan.

“ _Somebody’s_ gotta tell him!” Ethan growled.

“Tell me _WHAT_?” Derek demanded angrily.

Jackson’s laughter came in reply. “Dude! Oh, I am so glad I get to be the one to tell you this, you have no idea. Honestly, it brings me such joy,” he swore, pressing a hand to his chest. “You – as in 16-year-old you – latched onto Stilinski literally the _second_ you saw her.”

Derek’s brows raised in unison at that.

Aiden added in amusement, “I’m pretty sure you didn’t let her out of your sight the entire time. And you did NOT want to share.”

“It’s true,” Isaac confirmed. “You growled and bared your teeth at me once just for asking for her English notes.”

“I did?” Derek asked worriedly.

“You were a bit… territorial,” Danny informed him with a gentle, slightly worried smile.

Scott grimaced as he added, “There’s actually an indent in the cafeteria wall from the time I tried to give Stiles a hug. It was our first week back after we found you in Mexico and I was unaware that A) you had started following her to school and B) I was no longer allowed to touch my best friend.”

Boyd shrugged. “Yeah, for some reason, your wolf just decided Stiles was _yours_.”

Derek reached out and gripped the counter to steady himself.

“It’s cool, though,” Scott assured quickly, seeing the way the Alpha had paled. He sat up and shook his head as he offered, “You know I wouldn’t have been okay with it unless she was. It’s not like you were creepy with her or anything, or like she was uncomfortable at all.”

“Obviously,” Aiden scoffed, sounding insulted. “Otherwise we would have stepped in.”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, you weren’t an Alpha at that age. I mean, as a born wolf, you were still able to kick our asses one on one, but if Stiles had actually been in any danger, we would have worked together to keep you away.”

Despite his worry over what he was hearing, as everyone nodded and muttered their agreement, Derek could not help but feel a swell of pride. _How far they had come_ … They would have worked together to protect a member of their pack from a threat, even if that threat had been him.

“It’s actually a good thing you were so fixated on Stiles,” Boyd mused. “It probably saved your life in the beginning.”

“Seriously,” Jackson agreed.

“How so?” Derek asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

Scott glanced around the room, looking a bit guilty. Finally, he cleared his throat and answered reluctantly, “Well… uh… at first… we weren’t sure if we should tell you everything. Like what had happened to your family and who Kate really was. You had just woken up as a 16-year-old with no idea what was happening or where your family was. You were totally freaked out and scared. Pretty much everyone agreed we should try and shield you from the truth. Like, why put you through it again, you know?”

“But Stiles wasn’t having it,” Aiden said, shaking his head and giving an impressed look.

Isaac nodded, eyes going wide at the memory. “She was _so pissed_ that we were even trying to dodge your questions. Kept insisting we needed to tell you the truth.”

“Yeah, man,” Boyd said. “She said knowing might keep you safe. And, when no one else stepped up to tell you, she volunteered.”

Derek’s jaw flexed with the strain of the emotions he was trying to hold back. He knew what he had been like at that age – even after losing Paige he had been relatively open and innocent. Cocky. Happy. To look him in the eyes and tell him the horrors that happened in his life… Hell, he wasn’t sure he would even be able to do it to himself. The fact that Stiles had been willing to tell him the truth was yet another testament to her character.

Danny’s voice cut in on his thoughts. “Stiles took you over to her house that night to explain everything. She wanted you to be able to hear what happened without an audience. You waited in her bedroom while she went downstairs to get the case files from her Dad’s office.”

“Then Kate showed up,” Scott said with a scowl. “She climbed in through Stiles’ window and tried to get you to sneak away with her…”

Derek’s features hardened into an enraged glower. That vile, disgusting _bitch_ had climbed through Stiles’ window? The only window in her house Stiles did not line with mountain ash? The window Stiles left unprotected _specifically_ for _him_? So, Derek had essentially given Kate direct access to someone he lo– someone _important_ _to him_ – again. He felt bile rising up in the back of his throat.

“…but you?” Scott went on, pulling Derek’s attention back from his dark thoughts. He watched in confusion as Scott’s scowl melted into a dopey, lopsided smile. “Dude, you straight up _refused_ to ditch Stiles.”

“That’s where your fixation on Stilinski saved your ass,” Jackson chimed in.

“Yeah, because who knows what that psycho would have done if you had gone with her?” Ethan said. “Kate intentionally changed you back to a point where you should have been easy for her to manipulate. She clearly had plans for you.”

Isaac smiled and said, “But even though you didn’t remember what Kate had done, you still knew you wanted to stay with Stiles. You wouldn’t budge. And when Kate tried to convince you that you couldn’t _trust_ Stiles, well, then you knew something was seriously wrong.”

“Apparently, Stiles walked into the room at that point,” Boyd said, wincing as he added, “As you can imagine, it didn’t go over well…”

“Kate went after _Stiles?_ ” Derek snarled furiously, eyes blazing Alpha red. The thought alone made him dizzy as his mind filled with a single, overpowering, roaring instinct: _PROTECT STILES_. His wolf raged with the need to defend her from a months’ old threat that was clearly no longer present.

His heart was instantly thundering inside his chest, pounding dangerously in his ears, drowning out all other sounds. He squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw flexing as he gritted his teeth in an attempt to keep his fangs from descending. He drew his hands into tight fists, struggling to keep his claws sheathed. He could feel his control slipping. He shook his head determinedly as he fought off the change, feeling his already muddled mind disconnect from reality for a moment…

………………………………………….

 _Kate… went after_ Stiles.

 _Oh God, was that why Stiles hadn’t been around? Had Kate_ hurt _her? Had Kate done something so terrible that Stiles was still struggling to heal from it, even months later? Something that had the girls over at her house, rallying around her to offer aid or comfort? Something he had failed to protect her from? Something so awful that Stiles wanted to spare him from knowing about it, if at all possible?_

 _Was that why she called earlier asking if he remembered? Had she wanted to come over with the others? Had she chosen to stay away because whatever had been done to her was too severe to hide if he saw her in person? Random scenarios raced through his mind of scarring and wheelchairs and paralysis and extended hospital stays and_ Stiles in pain…

He gritted his teeth as a savage growl reverberated through his chest.

_He could not even tell himself that Stiles would not hide something from him if she thought she was protecting him. Because, sure, Stiles refused to withhold his own history from him. But if she felt he was blameless, then he could damn sure see her hiding injuries to spare him from feeling guilty. It’s not even like it would be the first time._

_Like when she had been tortured in Gerard’s basement as a message to Scott…_

_It had taken Derek_ a week and a half _to find out and, even then, he only learned about it by chance. Derek had not seen Stiles in person since that chaotic night when Jackson was freed from being the Kanima. In the days that followed, Derek stayed away from everyone. He needed to try to come to terms with Scott’s misguided (yet effective) actions while attempting to stifle his rage over being forced to bite Gerard. In his solitude, Derek began to replay his memories. So much had happened, but… had he seen a bruise on Stiles’ face? And wait, had her lip been swollen and bleeding, too? He racked his memories for what might have caused her injuries, alarmed to realize that she must have received them before crashing her Jeep into the warehouse._

 _His claws had shredded the arms of his chair as he realized in a murderous haze that…_ someone… _had put their hands on Stiles._ Someone… _had harmed her. And, whoever that soon-to-be-dead_ someone _was, they had never paid for the grievous transgression._

 _Derek had been livid. He needed to see Stiles with his own eyes. To make sure she was safe. When he sought her out, he found that she was spending all of her spare time at the police station, where he obviously could not follow. That information only served to increase his rage and worry. Was Stiles surrounding herself with police because she was_ afraid _of someone? Had she needed protection from whoever harmed her, but somehow believed she could not come to_ Derek _for it? And, OH, his wolf howled for blood at that thought._

 _When he finally resorted to contacting her via texts, she gave excuse after excuse for why she could not meet up or why she would not be home at specified times. Scott, unsurprisingly, proved useless for information. Despite being Stiles’ best friend, he was completely unaware of her even having any injuries. While questioning everyone, Derek learned from Lydia that – according to Stiles – a few players from the other Lacrosse team had roughed her up, but she had been unwilling to name the perpetrators. Derek_ very much _wanted those names._

_Finally, he could not take it anymore. With a hastily constructed pretext for the visit (which he would, naturally, provide AFTER arriving), he set out for her house. He just so happened to climb through her window as she was walking into her bedroom wearing a tank top – leaving visible her numerous freshly changed bandages, along with several sizeable bruises and partially healed wounds._

Derek gritted his teeth as he remembered…

_The way she scrambled for her flannel, the spike of panic in her scent mixed with the acrid smells of antiseptic and gauze, and beneath it all, blood. Stiles had been far more concerned about hiding her wounds than she had been over her own condition._

_He had not even been able to speak as he shuffled over to her, feet feeling weighted, his lips parting and eyes welling up. He took the flannel from her hands gently before she could cover up. With a sinking feeling of defeat and rising horror, he recognized the patterns of her injuries. His own body had worn those marks many times over the years. He knew. He already knew she had not been roughed up by a group of teenagers. No. The truth was far worse and so much more devastating. Stiles – spastic, brave, loyal, funny, brilliant,_ human _Stiles – had been tortured. By hunters. Because of her connection to the wolves. And none of them had protected her. None of them had even_ known _._

 _She kept her gaze locked on the floor as his eyes passed over what he could see of her injuries. After a moment, she whispered bitterly, “Nice, huh? Gerard and his goons’ handy work.” She wiped at her face angrily before shaking her head and saying, “Listen… no one… um… no one else knows about this. And… And I don’t want anyone to ever know. And I really…_ really _don’t want to talk about it. Okay, Der?” Her voice had broken on his name and he nearly broke along with it._

_Silent tears slipped down his face for her request and what she had endured alone. It was nearly impossible to swallow past the lump in his throat. Respecting her wishes, he did not ask any questions. Without a word, he reached out, taking her hand and, through it, her pain. He used the connection to survey her injuries, to understand the extent of what had been done to her, and to make sure she did not require any professional medical attention. He drew all of her pain away that night, and every night for several weeks after until, finally, she was healed up enough that she was no longer hurting. Not once during those visits did they ever speak._

_The last night, he released her hand and closed his eyes. He barely managed to whisper hoarsely, “Please… tell me… If you’re ever hurt again, Stiles… You have to tell me… please?”_

_He waited until she nodded before climbing back out her window._

_She had_ nodded _. He could not go as far as to call it a promise, but she at least agreed to tell him. She_ agreed _. She wouldn’t hide it again if she were hurt. Right?_

………………………………………….

Derek slowly came back to reality, rage still coursing through him. Looking around the room, his eyes were still glowing, and fangs were descended as he demanded, “What happened? Was Stiles hurt?”

Scott’s voice was quiet and gentle as he assured earnestly, “Derek… she’s okay, man.”

The Alpha’s eyes snapped to him, senses zeroing in to confirm the truth of his words.

Scott went on, calm and sincere, “I swear, Kate didn’t hurt her at all. Stiles is safe. She’s okay.”

Derek nodded, eyes returning to normal as he took a shaky, relieved breath. He leaned more heavily against the counter, looking as if he were using it to hold himself up.

Scott watched sympathetically. His head tilted to the side as he sensed the powerful emotions still radiating from the Alpha. It was a rare thing to see Derek struggle for control, but it was clear that he had been fending off on involuntary shift.

The room was quiet for a moment while Derek got himself calmed down.

His brief reprieve came to an end when Jackson snorted, “Yeah, _Stilinski_ was fine. _Derek_ on the other hand…”

Seeing the confused, weary look Derek gave in response, Danny explained, “Kate did try to take a swipe at Stiles, but you caught her hand before she could reach her. And when Kate tried to attack you, she got… ‘ _served the_ _Stilinski Special_ ’, as Stiles calls it.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement.

“Batter up!” Isaac called with a grin.

“Exactly,” Danny chuckled. “Kate got the aluminum baseball bat upside her head. Stiles grabbed your hand and dragged you out the door. And, at that moment, I _think_ you may have fallen hopelessly in love.”

Derek skillfully stuffed down all of the emotions that attempted to swell within him at the knowledge that Stiles had, _yet again_ , stood up to a vastly stronger enemy and, _yet again_ , successfully defended him. Then he winced. Because as it stood, with so many years of practice at schooling his reactions and hiding his emotions behind a scowl, he still caught himself openly marveling at Stiles sometimes. The idea of him at 16 – expressive and unabashed – witnessing a firsthand example of Stiles being her usual awesome self? Oh _God_. He could only imagine what his response had been.

“Oh, he definitely did,” Aiden laughed. “He was staring at her in awe for like three solid days.”

Ethan added in amusement, “Seriously, Derek. The only reason we all know what happened that night in such vivid detail is because you told us the story of Stiles’ greatness at least a hundred times.”

The guys all nodded muttered that it was true.

Derek rubbed a hand roughly over his face, struggling to wrap his head around all of this. “What… um… what happened after that?”

Scott answered. “Well, Stiles had knocked Kate out long enough to get you both out of there. She texted the pack letting us know she was driving you here to the loft, and then she called Peter and warned him that Kate would be right on your tail.”

Jackson added, “Peter and Stilinski plotted while she drove, they let Kate follow after you guys until she was right where Peter wanted her, and then he decapitated, dismembered, and cremated her crazy ass to make sure she actually _stays_ dead this time.”

Derek exhaled sharply in disbelief. A wave of relief rushed over him in response to the knowledge that Kate was finally, officially, irrevocably dead.

After giving Derek a moment, Scott continued, “Stiles explained everything that happened with your family and helped Peter explain what happened when he came out of the coma. She called Cora in South America so you could talk to her, then helped arrange for her to fly back so you could see her – which is the reason Cora’s back to living here now; in case you’re wondering.”

Derek’s eyes widened. He thought he had seen Cora the day he changed back, but everything had been so jumbled in his head, he honestly assumed it had been a dream or something.

Scott went on, “And then Stiles and her Dad had you move in with them so they could help while you started trying to process everything. After all of that? Well, you and Stiles were pretty much inseparable.” He frowned before adding with a smile, “So, I guess, in retrospect, I really shouldn’t have been all that surprised when you tried to put me through the cafeteria wall that week.”

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitched in amusement.

“You two actually got along great,” Ethan recalled with a look of supreme confusion. “I don’t think there was a time I saw you where you weren’t laughing or smiling. It was… honestly weird.”

Danny smacked Ethan’s shoulder and scowled. Turning back to Derek, Danny told him sincerely, “You guys were ridiculously cute together.”

“You know…” Jackson suddenly realized with an ill-behaved grin. “I bet you can see for yourself. You were really big on taking videos of the two of you hanging out.”

Aiden glanced over at Jackson and flashed a similarly disconcerting smile as he mused, “I wonder whether you did that when you guys were _alone_ , too?”

Derek’s eyes widened in horror. He froze up at the implications.

_They couldn’t mean… He and Stiles didn’t…_

_They hadn’t… They couldn’t have…_

_Oh, God, did they…?!_

“Tell me,” Jackson said purposefully, resting his chin on his hand and draping two fingers against his temple, gazing up at Derek with eyes narrowed. “Have you seen your phone around anywhere since you got back?”

Derek’s lips parted as his jaw went slack.

Without even attempting a response, he turned and headed for his bedroom, determined to locate his missing phone as quickly as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

“Remember, Allison. This is absolutely crucial. The success of your entire mission hinges upon this,” Stiles informed her gravely. “It has to be the _BIG_ jar.”

“I got it, I got it,” Allison laughed, holding her phone to her ear as she hefted the massive jar into her shopping cart. The trunk of Allison’s car was already loaded with their first round of groceries for their extended slumber party weekend. They hadn’t managed to make it out of the parking lot before Stiles was texting requests for additional items. More specifically, _pregnancy craving_ items. So many, in fact, that they ended up heading back inside the store for a second load.

“You got the rest of it already?” Stiles asked hopefully.

“Yeah. We did,” Allison laughed. “Now, let me go so we can bring it to you!”

“You, mademoiselle, Allison Argent, are a resplendent angel. And Lydia Martin, a terrifying, glorious goddess. The two of you walk here amongst us mere mortals and we are unworthy to be in the presence of such perfection,” Stiles professed ardently. Then her voice returned to normal as she huffed, “That being said, hurry up and get your asses back here! I’m freaking starving!”

Allison laughed as she ended the call and put away her phone.

“She is getting rather pushy, isn’t she?” Lydia mused, though her tone was undeniably fond.

“Well, she has a good reason to be,” Allison answered.

“Hmm. True,” Lydia agreed with a smile. Just then, her phone chimed. She glanced down at the ‘Pack Girls’ group text and scoffed in amusement. “Is she really going with ‘ _Operation OMG_ ’ as our code word for this matter?”

“Well, considering that was everyone’s initial reaction, it seems only fitting,” Allison said with a shrug.

Lydia’s eyes scanned the screen, and she huffed a laugh. “She just added ‘ _roasted red pepper hummus_ ’ to the list. Turn left at the end of the aisle. We have to go back to the front.”

“A _BIG_ container?” Allison asked knowingly.

“A _BIG_ container.” Lydia sighed in agreement.

“So… how long do you think before the bomb will be dropped?” Allison asked, glancing around the store. Given the numerous ears around town that might overhear something from long distance, they were all beyond careful discussing this subject.

“I’ll honestly be surprised if it doesn’t happen this weekend. It will be next to impossible to keep a lid on given our particular circle of friends,” Lydia mused. “In fact, if a different decision had been made, I would have personally funded a ‘surprise trip’ out of state for us all. It’s the only way it would have stayed under wraps. Nothing stays secret for long in Beacon Hills.” 

They turned the corner and immediately froze like deer in headlights.

“Well said,” Peter agreed and stood before them; eyes narrowed as he studied them suspiciously.

Neither moved. They barely breathed as they tried to decide whether he knew anything.

“ _Girls_ ,” Peter finally greeted with a disturbing smile. “Funny running into you here.”

“Uh… Hi,” Allison greeted awkwardly.

Lydia schooled her expression into faux politeness that completely failed to conceal an inferno of rage and contempt. You now – the way she always looked at the eldest Hale. “ _Peter_ ,” she greeted through clenched teeth with a vicious smile.

As she had hoped, her standard reaction seemed to relieve a bit of the tension in Peter’s shoulders. He shifted his posture, but unfortunately, chose that moment to lower his gaze and take in the contents of their cart. His brow arched.

“My… that is quite a lot of red meat,” he noted, batting his eyelashes, and looking at the stacks of steaks appraisingly.

“We know a lot of meat eaters,” Allison stated with a smile. She knew better than to lie outright to a wolf.

Peter’s eyes flashed in interest at her careful reply. “Hmm. Indeed you do…” he agreed.

Both girls fought to remain calm as he reached down and lifted the massive jar of dill pickles.

“Someone’s certainly hungry,” he commented, studying the jar before looking back at them. His eyes passed over each of them in turn, his gaze intent as if he could see right through them. His nose twitched ever so slightly, nostrils flaring as he scented them.

The girls were immeasurably relieved that they had gone to such great lengths to ensure they carried no traces of Stiles’ scent.

Lydia rolled her eyes and motioned to the pickles. “As if one person is going to eat all of that,” she scoffed. Again, not an outright lie. Technically, _two_ people would be eating it.

Peter smiled as he set the jar back in the cart.

After another moment of tense silence, he startled them by saying cheerfully, “Right. Well, I will leave you ladies to it. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

With that, he turned and went on his way, leaving the girls to exchange worried looks.

________________________________________________________ 

Peter entered the loft with a smile on his lips. He had been avoiding the place, but if everyone else was going to bother Derek, why should he miss out on the fun? Glancing around at the pack members crowding the space, he tilted his head curiously. “Not that I have anything against fraternal bonding, but… why exactly is there such a conspicuous and complete lack of estrogen today?”

“The girls are all hanging out over at Stiles’ place this weekend,” Isaac answered.

Peter’s brows drew together. “Are they now?”

“Peter!” Derek shouted down from the upper level, with just a slight note of panic in his tone. He leaned out at the entrance to the top of the spiral stairs and looked down at his uncle hopefully. “Have you seen my phone?”

“Can’t say that I have,” Peter answered, glancing up and taking in Derek’s harried appearance.

Derek growled in frustration before turning and heading back out of sight. The sound of drawers opening and closing forcefully made it clear that this search had already been going on for quite a while.

Peter idly recalled that the last time he had seen Derek’s phone was when the younger version of him had been wrapped around Stiles, cooing at her and taking sickeningly adorable pictures of the two of them. Peter smirked to himself at that, imagining how awkward things would be between the two of them now that Derek was back to normal. It was sure to be entertaining.

“Derek?” Peter called purposefully, looking over at the group of teens as he asked, “Have you seen Stiles lately by any chance?”

“ _SHUT UP, PETER!_ ” Derek roared back.

Peter grinned triumphantly and caught Jackson and Aiden shooting amused looks his way. Ah, he was figuring it out alright. Peter chuckled to himself, wondering just how floored his nephew would be when he got access to the contents of that phone. After all, Peter was certain the two had crossed the ‘just friends’ line numerous times in the past month and…

Peter’s expression suddenly went slack as his brain pieced it together.

His eyes rolled closed in realization.

“ _Oh_.” he sighed heavily.

Without a word, he turned on his heel and marched back out the door.

“Didn’t he just get here?” Scott commented suspiciously as the door slammed shut.


	6. Chapter 6

“It’s still mooing,” Lydia griped.

“It is not!” Stiles scoffed as she blissfully chewed a large piece of steak. “If it’s saying anything, it’s, ‘ _Eat me, Stiles! I’m so delicious!_ ’” To demonstrate her point, she had skewered another piece, then moved it around like a puppet in time with the high-pitched bloody-steak voiceover.

Lydia recoiled and held up a hand in revulsion. “That is beyond disgusting. Don’t complain to me when you get food poisoning.”

“Leave her be, Lyds,” Cora warned from her position at Stiles’ side. “It’s not like _she’s_ the one asking for it to be damned near raw.” With that, she gave a pointed look down at Stiles’ stomach.

Lydia grudgingly nodded. She supposed a baby werewolf would prefer its meat freshly killed.

Cora went on, “And trust me, she’s going to be like this the entire time. It takes a fuck-ton of protein to… do… what she’s doing. Like… even more than it normally would… given her… very specific situation.”

They had all agreed to avoid putting it to words as much as possible. It wouldn’t do to have someone walk up to the house and overhear Erica shouting more things along the lines of, ‘ _Stiles, go tell Derek he’s gonna be a Daddy… and then convince him to give you yummier, sweatier reasons to call him Daddy!_ ’

Stiles nodded and mumbled her agreement to Cora’s words as she chewed. “The hunger struggle is real. It’s what tipped me off that something was up. I woke up, stumbled down here, cooked, and ate an entire pack of bacon and a half dozen eggs before I realized what I was doing, and even after all of that, I was still hungry. That definitely got my attention.”

Lydia watched in mute horror as Stiles took a bite of a fudge Pop Tart, followed by a bite of a dill pickle, and happily chewed the two (clearly incompatible) food items together as if it were the best combination in the world. When she skewered another piece of her ridiculously rare steak and dunked it directly into the hummus, Lydia gagged and turned away. 

Slamming her hand down on the table, Lydia stood. “Nope. No. That is it. I physically _cannot_ watch you eat.”

Stiles snickered as Lydia retreated into the living room.

Less than a minute later, Lydia’s heels were hurriedly clicking back in their direction. Stiles looked up from her meal in confusion, only to realize that all of the weres were rigid and staring toward the front door.

“Company?” Stiles whispered worriedly. 

Cora growled low in warning, her features shifting as she wrapped an arm protectively around Stiles’ middle. Malia shifted and snarled, baring teeth as she crouched down in front of them, positioning herself with Cora as the last line of defense.

The others moved together easily, the benefits of fighting so many battles together. Stiles watched as a wall formed between her and the front of the house. Erica shifted and stood front and center, at the ready with fangs and claws. To her left, Allison had a long, curved knife in each hand. To her right, Kira clutched her sword with deadly grace. At their backs, halfway between the kitchen and the front door, Lydia raised her hands to her sides and steadied her breathing, preparing to scream if needed.

Silence descended on the group as everyone waited.

The sound of Stiles’ phone buzzing with an inbound call caused her to flinch. Cora’s head whipped toward the offending sound. It was only by a miracle that she did not smash the phone in her heightened state of vigilance.

“Okkaayy…” Stiles said nervously. “Just gonna see who’s calling… Moving my hand now… Please don’t bite it…” She picked up the phone and instantly scowled at the screen. Sighing to herself, she grudgingly answered. “Peter. Am I right in assuming that is you skulking around outside my house?”

“Stiles! Darling,” he greeted fondly, grin clear in his voice. “See? This is precisely why you are my favorite,” he cooed. “You are correct. I am outside. And given the way the ladies in there are circling the wagons, I figured I had best call before doing something as ill-advised as attempting to approach. See, if my intuition is right – which, let’s be honest, it always is – then you and I have something momentous to discuss.”

Stiles groaned and banged her cell phone against her forehead repeatedly. “Fucking… _HOW?_ ” she screamed when she put the phone back up to her ear.

“Oh, Stiles. You know I have my ways,” Peter chuckled coyly. “Now, come, come. Call off your bloodthirsty little band of Amazons so we can chat.”

Stiles huffed as she hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table. “It’s Peter. He knows. Let him in,” she sighed for the benefit of those without supernaturally enhanced hearing.

Erica opened the front door in irritation and pulled Peter in by his arm. He allowed himself to be shoved along with a look of barely concealed delight.

Once the door was closed, he glanced around the home’s interior. “Well. Look at you ladies. I must say, I am very impressed by the response thus far. Seems this joyous news is just bringing out all the pack instincts, isn’t it?”

“What do you want?” Lydia asked with an arched brow, blocking his approach, and refusing to move aside.

Peter met her contemptuous gaze head-on for a change, all traces of amusement dissolving from his face. “What I want… is to speak with the newest member of my _family_ ,” he stated, taking slow, purposeful, predatory steps toward the Banshee. “Because trust and believe, any woman carrying a Hale child, is family. And while I thoroughly appreciate the protection you are providing for Stiles, do _not_ make the mistake of trying to stand in my way.” He flashed his eyes at Lydia in unmistakable warning.

Lydia simply straightened her back and squared her shoulders in response, refusing to stand down. “Stiles?” she called in a calm voice, holding Peter’s gaze without wavering.

Stiles was watching all of this with her mouth hanging open slightly. “Uh, what? Oh – yeah. Let him by. Thanks, Lyds.”

At that, Lydia smiled up at the older werewolf and gracefully stepped aside.

Peter chuckled darkly and paused beside Lydia, eyeing her appraisingly. “It really is a shame you weren’t able to turn. As extraordinary as you are as a Banshee, you would have made an even more magnificent and deadly wolf.”

Lydia’s eyes flashed with rage at the reminder of his bite, but she inclined her head ever so slightly, knowing that she had just received the highest of praises in Peter’s book.

Peter moved further into the house, closer to Stiles, but stopped abruptly. Stiles noted that he had been able to detect the pregnancy from a much greater distance than the others. Perks of being an older, born-wolf.

Taking a long, deep breath through his nose, Peter exhaled and visibly relaxed. “Oh…” he sighed with a genuine smile. He looked down for a moment to collect himself. “I’d forgotten just what that smells like,” he said hoarsely. When he had his emotions in check, he looked to Stiles. “It’s been a very long time.”

Stiles studied him, her features softening in understanding of just how much this was affecting him. The last time he scented a Hale child on the way, his life had been whole and happy. Untouched by flames, trauma, and grief.

Peter drew a steadying breath and continued his approach. Noting the defensive positions his daughter and niece remained in, he knew better than to attempt to get them to move. He reached down and ran a hand affectionately over Malia’s hair in passing, then gave Cora’s shoulder a light squeeze before taking a seat across from Stiles.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, glancing down at her meal in fond amusement. “I see the steaks reached their intended recipient.”

Stiles held up her hands and glanced over at Allison and Lydia. “Guys!”

Before the girls could defend themselves, Peter held up a hand. “No, no. You cannot hold them accountable. They dodged my questions splendidly.” He glanced over to Lydia and grinned. “You were absolutely correct. _One person_ would not be eating all of those pickles,” he said in amusement.

Lydia suppressed a smile in response.

Peter turned his attention back to Stiles. “They did remarkably well. I am simply more skilled than others at piecing together seemingly unrelated details.” He motioned down to her plate. “I am sure you are still hungry. By all means, do not let me stop you.”

Stiles scowled at that, then grudgingly returned to eating. She really was still starving.

Peter chuckled knowingly. “Now, would I be right in assuming that you are still contemplating how and when to inform my nephew?”

With a pout and a small whimper, Stiles nodded and shoved another chunk of steak into her mouth. She pulled the plate closer to herself. The steak was medicinal at this point – an ‘emotional support steak,’ if you will.

Peter smiled sympathetically. “Yes, Derek’s return to his original age certainly complicates things. But… I suppose it could be worse. Imagine he had changed back to his 24-year-old self in 8 months. Or 3 years. That would certainly put you in an even more awkward situation.”

Stiles held up a hand as her mouth dropped open indignantly. “DUDE! How is that even remotely helpful?”

“Just putting things into perspective, is all,” Peter teased. His features softened as he said, “It will all work out. I am sure you will find the right way to tell him and – after he has a good, long mope over it – the two of you will be just as nauseatingly adorable together as you were before.”

Stiles glared up at him for that, but he only chuckled in reply.

“Anyway. As it just so happens, I figured you would wish to keep things quiet for the time being. And so, I stopped by the family vault on the way here.” He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small object. Holding up his hand, he allowed a small medallion to dangle from its chain.

Cora exhaled sharply when she focused on it. Stiles felt her lean into her and leaned back in response, understanding that for some reason, Cora needed the comfort.

“This is a Hale family heirloom,” Peter said. “Wear it, and it will mask your scent and the child’s heartbeat. No one will be able to detect the pregnancy while it is on.”

“Really?” Stiles asked in surprise, wiping her hands to make sure they were clean before reaching for it. Peter handed the necklace over and she took a moment to study the antique, silver medallion. Roughly the size of a coin, it was a circle with a series of lines through its center and runes carved across its surface. It was beautiful in its simplicity.

Cora reached out and ran her fingers over it. “I remember Mom wearing this,” she said quietly and rested her head against Stiles’ shoulder.

Stiles leaned her head to the side, pressing it against Cora’s. She vaguely wondered when she had turned so tactile but ignored it. Cora clearly needed the contact. Stiles was happy to provide it. 

“May I?” Peter asked quietly, and Stiles turned her attention from the medallion to look back at him curiously. He motioned with his hand toward her stomach and Stiles’ eyes widened in understanding.

“Oh! But… it’s still too early, right?” she asked with a frown. “Like… even _you_ won’t be able to feel a heartbeat?”

“I do not know,” Peter answered. “But this necklace will effectively mask the child from all of us… and honestly, after all the loss in our family, my wolf is incredibly anxious over that fact. I would like to check on the child’s condition, but also reassure my wolf.”

Stiles was surprised to find that she was not weirded out by the idea. Her instinctive reaction was to allow Peter to touch her stomach. She realized there was probably something _wolfy_ at play there… Maybe, in the absence of Derek, some part of her brain wanted to carry the scent of another older male family member? As if allowing Peter’s scent on her would help ward off an attacker?

She nodded before motioning him closer. “Yeah. Sure. Go ahead.”

The girls were all entering the kitchen and inching toward the table, Stiles noted, and Cora reluctantly sat up enough to grant Peter access to her charge.

Stiles leaned back in her seat, hiking up her shirt and pushing her jeans down a few inches. She immediately arched a brow, wondering how she had known he needed to make skin contact for this. There were a lot of new and confusing instincts going on, but she decided the less she thought about it, the better.

Peter tilted his head from side to side, as if attempting to alleviate growing tension in his shoulders, then slowly reached out and laid his hand flat against her stomach. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, staying still for a couple of moments.

Stiles watched him closely and smiled realizing that everyone else in the room was doing the same.

Finally, Peter sat back, withdrawing his hand as he smiled up at her. “It is still very early,” he confirmed. “But I can tell for sure that it is healthy, it is strong, and it is most _definitely_ a Hale wolf.”

Stiles laughed in amazement at that declaration and the girls were all immediately squealing, clapping, hugging, and excitedly bouncing in place.

Despite the raucous celebration around them, Stiles held Peter’s watery gaze. Clutching her hand to her heart, she mouthed, “Thank you.”

Peter gave her a tight, emotional smile and inclined his head to her graciously. Sitting back, he took a steadying breath and cleared his throat. And if he wiped his hands over his eyes, she pretended not to notice.

Once the girls had settled down, Peter pointed to the necklace. “I suppose we should test it out to be sure it is working properly.”

Stiles nodded and slid the medallion on over her neck. She felt a cold, tingling sensation rush over her skin as it settled into place. Before she could even think to ask if it was working, Malia was already growling, her features twisted into a severe scowl.

“I don’t like it,” Malia ground out past fangs, eyes flashing as she glared down at the necklace that had just – to the instincts of her coyote – taken her unborn cousin away.

Cora’s brows drew together as her lips formed a deep frown. She pressed closer to Stiles and shook her head. “Yeah, no. I don’t like it, either.”

Erica snarled nearby, and Stiles glanced up to find that her features had shifted completely – as if in response to a threat. Lydia reached over and ran her hand soothingly down the Beta’s arm.

Peter rested a hand on Malia and Cora’s shoulders as he sighed, “I know. I am not a fan of it, myself, but it serves its purpose. Talia wore it for each of her pregnancies until she was far enough along to show. As you can imagine, there are those who would seek to use the vulnerability of any woman carrying a werewolf against her and her pack. It is wise to minimize the amount of time such a condition is common knowledge. And for now, Stiles needs this. So, we must all hold our tongues and settle our inner beasts until such a time as she is ready.”

They chatted for a while longer before Peter stood to leave.

He motioned down at himself as he said, “Seeing as how I cannot exactly return to the loft smelling like this, I am going to open a standing reservation over at the Marriot.” He smiled lightly as he recalled, “It used to be standard procedure when there was a new pregnancy in the pack. I will get a room for myself, as well as a spare for you all. Nothing fancy, mind you. As if that were even an _option_ here in Beacon Hills. But it will serve a specific function. The spare room will be free for any of you to use as necessary if you come in contact with Stiles’ unmasked scent. You can each leave a change of clothing there, and I will place a bottle of soap in the shower that will be most effective at removing the scent. I will also leave bundles of herbs that can be lit to keep the scent from lingering in the room. I will drop off a few room keys later on.”

“Can you bring some soap and herbs for us to use here to make sure nothing lingers?” Lydia asked.

“Certainly,” Peter agreed.

Stiles stood and, before she could stop herself, pulled Peter into a hug. “Thank you for all of this,” she said, and closed her eyes when he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“Oh, I assure you, thanks are not required. It is my pleasure and privilege to be able to look after family,” he said with a smile.

He did not seem in any hurry to let her go, and before she knew it, she felt Cora attaching herself to one side and Malia to the other. Stiles squeezed her eyes shut tight as she teared up. _Stupid hormones_. She was totally not getting choked up by the acceptance she was receiving from Derek’s family or the intense relief she was feeling at being covered in their scents. And she was definitely not thinking about how she wished she could hug Derek like this or worrying about how that was likely to never, ever happen.

She fought to keep her breathing steady, and she almost managed it, too. But then Peter ran his hand up and down her back and muttered soothingly, “It’s going to be fine, Stiles. You’ll see.” And then she had to fight to hold back a sob. It came out as more of a strangled whimper and she bowed her head, hiding her face away against Peter’s shoulder as she cried.

_Peter Hale_. Former murderous, psychopathic werewolf. Currently soaked in her tears. And what even was her life? How was this a thing?


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a week of searching, and Derek _still_ had not found his damned phone. He had looked everywhere he could think of – barring, of course, Stiles’ Jeep or house. He could not bring himself to risk facing her until he knew the extent of what had happened between them.

Everyone had informed him that he and Stiles had been close, but the question remained of just _how_ ‘close’ they had been. He had frankly been too cowardly to ask his Betas for specifics. Besides, they would only provide an outside perspective. Also, the pack members he would most readily believe (Scott, Danny, Ethan, Boyd, and Isaac) seemed uncomfortable and terribly reluctant to give pertinent details. Meanwhile, the ones he knew would thoroughly enjoy bending the truth and intentionally riling him up (Jackson, Aiden, and Peter) were the most forthcoming and eager to ‘help.’

Between the two groups, their words painted such drastically varying pictures, it was hard to discern the truth. Had he and Stiles just been close friends? Had it been one-sided pining, with him fawning over her while she saw him as only a friend? Had there been mutual interest? And, God, had they actually _slept_ together?

That possibility honestly terrified him. Because he had been so very, _very_ careful to keep his feelings for Stiles hidden. She had been barely 16 when they met, and he had sworn to himself that he would never cross that line. He hid his fondness for her behind a shroud of feigned irritation, as if he found her every word and action vexing, rather than bizarrely endearing. In the fog of grief after Laura’s death, when he had been spiraling and hopelessly lost, his wolf had latched on to Stiles as an anchor. She had been the solitary bright light in a darkness that threatened to swallow him whole.

He had no idea what he would do if his younger-self had ignored his carefully constructed boundaries. Where would that leave things between him and Stiles? What if it made things too difficult between them? What if he _lost_ her?

The thought made his blood run cold. Because, while he steadfastly refused to act on his feelings for her – or to ever admit to himself just how deep those feelings ran – he had very much greedily indulged in her presence. He craved the barbs and banter they exchanged. He appreciated every opportunity to protect her from harm. He was proud of the times she instinctively moved behind him in the face of serious threats, his wolf exceedingly delighted that she trusted him to keep her safe. He savored sitting alone with her while they researched on so many late nights, listening to her muttering under her breath and the soft scribbling sound of her pen as she jotted notes. He had come to rely on her ability to read his moods, and the way she always seemed to know just how to calm him. A private, soft spoken reassurance. A gentle hand on his shoulder – never lingering, never more than a fleeting, grounding touch. So simple and yet so effective. The way she always did it so _discretely_. As if it was their secret. As if at least some small part of her was cognizant of the effect she had on him. Knew all along how deeply he cared but allowed him to feign indifference. As if she played along with his act purely for his benefit.

The thought of losing her because of something his dumbass teenaged-self may have done made it hard to breathe and nearly impossible to sleep. His nightmares that week had been plagued with images of Stiles staring back at him – her typically open and happy features now closed off and cold. Images of watching the taillights of her Jeep disappear into the distance as she left, never to return. He would wake clutching his chest against the pain, his wolf howling mournfully and railing against him for control, desperate to seek her out.

But no, wolf. Not yet. First, he had to know.

His whole world currently hinged upon finding that God. Damned. _Phone_.

Derek had threatened half the pack with physical harm if he discovered they were hiding it from him. Only half, because – much to his growing dread – it was now apparent that the female members of the pack were inexplicably anxious in his presence. While no longer actively avoiding him, their heart rates always elevated just enough to catch his notice when he entered the room, and the scent of their unease was impossible to ignore. He did not even want to consider the possible reasons.

And there was another strange item that he was aware of – at least in his periphery. A familiar scent… or rather, lack thereof… that tugged at his memories. He had vague recollections of an herb burning in his home as a child. The resulting smoke had a neutralizing effect that always made his wolf uneasy, as if one of his senses had been muted. It made random, perplexing appearances now. Tendrils of the fleeting non-scent hung in the air in lingering wisps. Always so terribly subtle, just enough to trigger his wolf before it was gone. He could never locate the source. As disturbing at it was, however, it was the least of his concerns, and so he did his best to ignore it.

His latest effort to find his phone was one he was surprised did not occur to him immediately. He blamed his residual mental fog for the delay in coming up with the idea. Unwilling to wait, bright and early that morning he drove over to Danny’s house and knocked on the front door.

Danny’s eyes widened when he opened it to find the Alpha on his doorstep. “Heeyyyyy, Derek,” he greeted nervously, forcing a smile. “What’s up?”

Derek arched a brow at the slight tremor in the human’s voice and the sharp, uncharacteristic anxiety in his scent. “I need you to try and track my phone,” he said… and the instant he made the request, he was suddenly acutely aware of how highly suspicious it was that the pack’s resident hacker had not suggested it in the first place.

Derek frowned severely in realization.

Danny pressed his lips together and guiltily avoided eye contact. The way his body tensed made it clear that the human had been hoping to avoid getting involved. With a defeated sigh, Danny opened the door and motioned for Derek to come in. He winced at the way the Alpha’s features hardened into a scowl as he entered.

Danny – however reluctantly (and nervously, with a glowering Derek standing over his shoulder the entire time) – was able to pull up the information. The phone’s battery had died nearly two weeks prior, but Danny was at least able to discern its last known location: somewhere far out in the Preserve.

________________________________________________________ 

Stiles was exhausted. She was also sweaty, uncomfortable, bloated, and her hormones were all over the damned place. She cried over a commercial for toothpaste. It was not pretty. In fact, _none of this_ was pretty. Her body was having all sorts of weird reactions to growing a werewolf baby.

Her stomach revolted against her intermittently, leaving her in a downward spiral of misery, nausea, and vomiting where she was disgusted by every single food item and downright revolted by the smell of the entire world. The next second, she would be so hungry she could legitimately envision herself chasing down a deer and gnawing on it with her very human teeth. Just a day in the life of a supernatural pregnancy.

Her temperature was in a constant state of flux, ranging from freezing to overheating. She was wearing a lightweight tank top and a pair of boxers (which may or may not have belonged to teenage Derek – _shut up_ , she was grieving, damn it.) She also had three thick, fluffy blankets at the ready for when the chills and chattering teeth inevitably started back up. Cora, Malia, and Erica had grown accustomed to Stiles alternating between pleading for them to share their glorious, abundant body heat with her, and whining for them to get their radiator-like asses off of her.

She occasionally fell asleep without warning now. Like, that’s not even an exaggeration. We’re talking: sitting up, mid-sentence, and just… Blam. Out cold. Slumped over and snoring. As if the girls needed any additional reasons to be paranoid and hypervigilant about the state of their secretly pregnant pack member, right? Given the way Lydia discretely _lunged_ for her phone after waking Stiles from her very first surprise sleep, and the fact that Peter just happened to show up within ten minutes to check on Stiles and the baby (because he was ‘in the neighborhood’ – uh huh, sure), Stiles had a sneaking suspicion that a certain redheaded Banshee was keeping Mr. Creeper Wolf constantly apprised of her condition. _Awesome_.

So, anyway, yeah. She was basically narcoleptic at this point. As such, Lydia had forbidden her from driving. To ensure it, she had taken away the keys to Stiles’ Jeep (even her backup set! Like, how had she even known where to find it?) Stiles was also assigned a babysitter 24/7 – no doubt a product of behind the scenes Banshee / Creeper Wolf coordination. Whenever the girls went anywhere – to the loft to make an appearance, home to check in with their families, shopping, visiting boyfriends, whatever – someone was always left on Stiles guard duty. It was a good thing that school had recently let out for the summer because guarding Stiles had become a fulltime job.

Which, okay, fine. Stiles got it. And even with the handy dandy Hale heirloom necklace thingy, she had not felt up to leaving the house. I mean, she was sort of prone to ugly crying over everything – probably not a good idea to go to the mall where she might end up a blubbering mess because some stubble-faced Derek-esque-looking Dad was playing with his kid, right? So, having someone around the house to keep her company at all times was not necessarily a bad thing.

Speaking of reasons to avoid the mall at all costs, she could smell _everything_ now. With a growing degree of accuracy. At first it had been limited to food. As in: Stiles taking a long, slow sniff and demanding, “Alright, which one of you heartless bitches had Krispy Kreme today and didn’t bring me any?” Pan to Kira’s startled expression and guilty wince before she whimpered, “Lydia said it’s not good for the baby!” Cue Lydia’s indignant, gasped, “ _Kira!_ ” before Lydia assured (with all the skill and carefulness of a professional hostage negotiator), “Stiles, I absolutely did not say that it is ‘not good’ for the baby. What I said was, ‘Krispy Kreme is not good _enough_ ’ for our very first pack baby. If you want pastries, I will go to my local bakery and bring you something freshly made and far more suitable for our little Hale-ling.” She punctuated that statement with a saccharine sweet smile, long lashes batting. Ah, Lydia. Goddess supreme.

But Stiles’ supernaturally-enhanced sense of smell was swiftly branching out beyond food. She had been startled the day before to realize she could tell by scent alone that Allison had been in the same room as Derek. And she steadfastly refused to acknowledge that – upon making that discovery – she proceeded to greedily huff on Allison’s shoulder, seeking out more of the euphoric rush of comfort even his secondhand scent provided. Allison had patted her arm and given her a sympathetic, slightly pitying smile. Stiles understood the pity because, yes, she realized all too well that she was in _so much_ trouble.

As her symptoms grew more severe, she knew it would not be long before she would have to tell her Dad. Because no matter how many double shifts he pulled, ol’ Eagle Eyes Stilinski did not miss a beat. That very morning, she had caught him leveling her with a look over his coffee. Not just any look. It was his signature long, suspicious, appraising, Sheriff’s gaze. Designed to strike fear into the hearts of hardened criminals and cause the guilty to reflexively flinch. And Stiles? Oh, Stiles had definitely flinched. And her Dad’s eyes had narrowed even further as his lips formed a tight line. Yeah, she was so royally screwed.

Cora’s voice jarred Stiles from her inner ponderings and growing dread.

“Danny, inbound,” Cora announced from her place curled up beside Stiles on the couch. 

“Shit, really?” Stiles asked, sitting up and attempting to look at least moderately normal. “Do I look as bad as I feel?”

“Only if you feel absolutely terrible,” Malia offered without hesitation.

“ _Oh, for the love of_ …” Lydia huffed.

Stiles closed her eyes and sighed. “Thank you, Malia. I can always count on your honesty.”

“Any time!” Malia said happily.

Cora snorted in amusement.

The knock came on the door a minute later and Lydia opened it, smiling out at the handsome Hawaiian fondly. “Danny,” she greeted sweetly. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

He shifted anxiously. “Hey, Lydia. Is Stiles here? I really need to talk to her.”

Lydia sighed, nodding before reluctantly stepping aside and opening the door. Danny entered the living room and glanced around, nodding in greeting to Allison, Erica, and Kira, then over to Malia and Cora.

Turning his attention to Stiles, he smiled sympathetically. Sitting on the arm of a chair, he spoke in a soft, gentle tone. “Hey, girl. How’ve you been?”

“Uh… _Fiiinnneeee_?” Stiles drawled out cautiously, squinting and giving him a suspicious once-over. “Why do you ask?” 

Danny arched an incredulous brow. “Uh… maybe because Derek suddenly changed from being your adoring, doting, borderline-worshipping boyfriend back into his usual grouchy, growly, distant self? If I were in your shoes, I would need a constant support system, too.” He motioned around the room at the girls before adding, “And ice cream. And hot wings. And like, a truly _ludicrous_ amount of chocolate.” His jaw dropped open and he extended a hand toward Stiles as he gasped, “Should I have brought chocolate? Oh my God, I so should have brought chocolate!”

“No, Danny. It’s fine,” Stiles laughed, then abruptly stopped, and tilted her head at the thought of hot wings and chocolate. Ooh, hot wings dipped in chocolate syrup! She opened her mouth as she turned to Lydia, but the redhead was already rolling her eyes and typing on her phone.

“ _Yes_ , we can get you hot wings and chocolate later,” Lydia sighed in amusement.

Stiles blew kisses at her and declared sincerely, “You’re the best! The absolute best!”

Danny chuckled and shook his head. His smile faded as he recalled the reason for his visit.

“Oh. Right.” He sat up and sighed. “Soooo, I wanted to come by to let you know…” He winced as he said in a rush, “ _Derekmademetrackhisphone_. Annnddd _heisonhiswaytothePreservetogetitrightnow_.”

He gritted his teeth, clasped his hands together tightly in front of his face, and tensed up as he waited for Stiles to decipher what he said.

Stiles stared at him in confusion for a few seconds before her jaw dropped open. “Fuck,” she gasped. Her vision tunneled in panicked realization. “Fuckety _fuck_! How could I have forgotten his _PHONE_?” she wailed and covered her face with her hands.

She could picture it, too. Laying off in the grass a few feet away from where she had left Derek when Scott arrived. You know, after it became clear that the disoriented adult Derek was expecting the Stiles he knew prior to de-aging. Not the Stiles who knew him biblically.

“Ugghhhh!” Stiles moaned.

“Maybe it won’t turn on?” Allison offered tentatively with a hopeful smile.

Lydia nodded. “That’s a distinct possibility. If it’s been outside all this time, it could be damaged.”

“Yeah, it could have moisture damage,” Kira agreed, eager to give Stiles the glimmer of hope.

“Meh, not likely,” Erica replied, like the great, big thief of hope she was. “What? I’m just saying!” she cried and held up her hands in response to the looks she received from Lydia, Allison, and Kira.

Cora shrugged. “Sorry to say it, but Erica’s right. Derek’s phone had this heavy-duty, waterproof, damned near bulletproof case on it. Guess he got tired of replacing phones all the time.”

Stiles whimpered. “This is so bad.”

“Okay. Right. And I totally get that it is,” Danny said with a nod, but then scrunched up his face and tried cautiously, “But… _is it really_ , though?

Stiles uncovered her face and scowled over at him.

Danny held up a hand. “Just hear me out. Like, if he’s gonna find out, isn’t it sort of better that he finds out through the eyes of his younger-self?”

Stiles pouted. “Don’t you come into my house with your logic and rational thinking, Mahealani.”

Danny chuckled.

Lydia arched a perfectly sculpted brow and chimed in, “He does have a point, Stiles.”

Stiles cried out in betrayal before sticking her tongue out at Lydia. “Don’t make me demote you from your aforementioned, ‘the absolute best’ status.”

Lydia scoffed, then teased knowingly in a musical voice, “You’ll forgive me when I bring you hot wings.”

Stiles groaned and rolled her eyes. “Damn you for knowing my weaknesses.”

“But seriously, think about it, Stiles,” Allison urged. “He needs to know, right? Because before you can have… _certain conversations_ with him…” She gave a meaningful look at that. “…you will need him to know what happened these past few months.”

Cora nodded. “Right. And considering the fact that his teenaged-self filled just about every damned bit of memory on his phone with pictures and videos of the two of you, that phone is going to be able to do all the work of explaining things.”

“Huh,” Erica said with a sly smile. “Almost seems like snack-sized Derek planned it that way.”

Kira’s eyes widened. “ _Oh_ … I get it now. Why he was always making those videos. He wanted to make sure he kept those memories no matter what happened.”

Lydia smiled at Stiles. “Seems you may yet be spared a ton of awkward explanations.”


	8. Chapter 8

At first, Derek wondered over the last known location of his phone. Once he was out there stalking determinedly through the undergrowth, however, it dawned on him. He had probably lost his phone the day he shifted back to his current age. He knew he must have collapsed when it happened. He had been on the ground, after all.

His feet skidded to an abrupt, clumsy halt.

His eyes widened.

He frowned severely and took a moment to fervently _HOPE_ that he had collapsed when he shifted back. That him collapsing was the only reason he had been out here… in the forest… in a secluded area… alone with Stiles… laying on the ground… covered in her scent…

_FUCK. Had there been a blanket on the ground?_

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he tried to remember. Alas, as always, the memories would not come. He had been too disoriented when the shift happened. He could only see little flashes of images. He hated the realization that those foggy, fragmented glimpses of Stiles’ anxious, worried face hovering above him were the last time he had seen her. He took a steadying breath, swallowed hard, and then forced himself to press on.

Entering the arguably breathtaking clearing where his phone had last been, he immediately winced. He did his very best to ignore how he definitely recognized the location, and how he had picked it out in his youth as a place he could someday bring a date for some fun.

Focusing on the task at hand, his eyes swept across the grass and fallen leaves for nearly twenty minutes before he finally spotted it. With a victorious grin, he retrieved it. His grin slowly melted away as he worried anew about what he might find. But at least he would have an answer… even if it turned out to be one for which he was not entirely prepared.

As soon as he returned to his car, he plugged in the phone. It would take a while to charge enough to turn on, so he did his best to ignore it while he drove back the loft. He entered his home and glared at the teenagers sprawled on his couch.

“OUT.” He ordered gruffly.

Grumbling under their breath, they immediately moved to gather up their bags.

“Oh,” Peter noted with a pleased smile as he entered the room. “I see you finally found your phone.”

The younger pack members all froze at those words, looking over at Derek with expressions varying from concern to glee.

“I said OUT. _Everyone_. Even you, Peter,” Derek barked and pointed to the door.

Peter clicked his tongue in distaste. “Touchy,” he huffed as he made his way across the loft. “You know, you were never this hostile when Stiles was taking care of you.” He paused to tease, “But then, I guess you’re about to see that for yourself, aren’t you?”

Derek growled thunderously and flashed red eyes at his uncle in reply.

“I’m going,” Peter chuckled and held up his hands in an attempt to mollify the angry Alpha as he left.

Derek waited until he could no longer hear their cars retreating in the distance before heading into his bedroom. As he entered the space, his eyes wandered for the millionth time over to the chair in the corner, where one of Stiles’ hoodies had remained untouched since his return. He had been unable to force himself to approach it. He did not want to disturb whatever scents it held. He refused to acknowledge that a small, piteous part of his heart feared it was the last remnant of her that he would ever have for himself. Refused to acknowledge the fear that he might need that hoodie at some point to calm his wolf in her absence.

With his stomach churning, he sat on the edge of his bed and plugged the phone in again. Dragging a hand roughly over his stubbled jaw, he forced himself to press the power button. As soon as it turned on, he had to flip it over and draw a breath. It took nearly a full minute to work up the courage to turn it over again. There, lit up on the screen as the new wallpaper, was a selfie of him – exactly as he had been 7 years prior – with his grinning face pressed up against Stiles’.

His chest constricted painfully as a surge of emotions washed over him. He felt… _rage_. And jealousy. And hate. And while he was no stranger when it came to self-hatred, this time it took on a whole new meaning. That smiling _idiot_ had taken his Stiles. He had ruined _everything_. He had landed, completely unwanted and unwelcome, upon the carefully constructed path Derek had made, the one that he foolishly hoped might someday bring him closer to Stiles. And the little bastard had bypassed the entire pathway to skip right to the ending.

The phone creaked ominously in his hand and he fought to stay calm. He had not even unlocked it yet and if he did not get a hold of himself, he was going to break it before he ever got the chance. Biting his lips to keep his fangs in check, he unlocked the phone. The picture set as the unlocked wallpaper was clearly taken just a few seconds after the first, the only difference was his younger-self was now kissing Stiles’ cheek and she had her eyes closed as she laughed.

God, he felt sick. He didn’t think he could do this. Covering his mouth with his hand, he pressed on. Going to the photo gallery, he groaned seeing that there were literally _thousands_ of new pictures. The amount of time he had missed had never been so tangible as it was for him in that moment.

He scrolled through the photos for a moment with a heavy heart, each image confirming what he had heard from his pack. That they were always smiling and laughing. That they were ‘ridiculously cute’ together. And yes, he was very clearly hopelessly in love.

And Stiles… God, she looked so… _right_. Like she was at peace. Derek marveled at the enumerable pictures of her reading or curled up sleepily on a chair or sitting in the Jeep. Her face looked so… relaxed. So serenely happy.

His jaw flexed as he fought to swallow past the lump rising in his throat. It had been his teenaged self that made her feel that way. Not him as he was now. Stiles had connected with someone just as open, playful, and expressive as she was. And he could never be that for her. 

With watery eyes, he switched to the videos album, and tried to prepare his heart for what it might witness. He scrolled back to the earliest videos, wanting to watch the progression of events in the proper order. Pressing play on the first one, he recognized his younger, notably higher-pitched voice where he was speaking from behind the camera.

“ _You are so incredibly sexy when you get your geek on_ ,” he was joking as Stiles sat at the table, poring over a stack of books, clearly researching a way to fix their latest problem (most likely his de-aging.)

Stiles snorted. “ _Oh, yeah?_ ” She looked up and arched a challenging brow. “ _Well, full-sized you would be over here geeking_ with me _. That would be way sexier right about now._ ”

Derek felt inordinately smug. Take that, mini-me.

“ _Bullshit,_ ” mini-me laughed. “ _I might pretend to read with you, but I bet I spend most of the time sitting across from you, just breathing in your scent and sneaking looks at you_ ,” his traitorous, rotten, no-good bastard of a younger-self revealed with a laugh. Was nothing sacred?

At that, Stiles gave a skeptical look and scoffed. “ _Yeah. No._ ” She motioned in his general direction with her pen and declared, “ _You outgrow this bizarre fondness for spastic, awkward, hyperactive, sarcastic, mouthy 17-year-olds with age, I assure you_.”

Derek frowned and shook his head. “No, I don’t,” he replied to the screen.

“ _No, I don’t_ ,” his younger-self replied simultaneously on the video.

Derek’s jaw dropped slightly.

“ _I bet I just got better at playing it off, but no matter how grouchy I seem, I know without a doubt that I’m still crazy about you_ ,” his younger-self insisted.

Derek felt oddly relieved that his younger-self had said that to her.

Stiles laughed and waved him off. And it might have been his imagination, but he could swear he could just about make out her muttering under her breath, “ _I wish._ ”

The video ended, and Derek found himself hurrying to start the next. One after another, he got little glimpses into the months he had lost. His younger-self had been just as unabashedly flirtatious and adoring toward Stiles as he feared.

Derek covered his face and groaned in embarrassment when he found a video of him with the Sheriff. His younger-self was standing in Stiles’ kitchen, positioned so that his face was in the forefront of the screen, with the Sheriff in the frame behind him, seated at the table, clearly trying to eat his breakfast in peace.

“ _Sheriff Stilinski, I am going to marry your daughter someday!_ ” his younger-self declared with a besotted sigh as he clutched his heart.

Noah rolled his eyes and shook his head, glancing up from his paper. “ _Son, you are grossly outmatched. You’d have to be back to your full-sized, Alpha self before you could ever go toe to toe with my daughter._ ”

Derek let out a startled laugh at the unexpected comment.

It was his younger-self’s turn to roll his eyes.

Noah took a sip of his coffee before adding, “ _And, even then, there’ll be no marrying going on until she’s at least 18. So, don’t go getting down on one knee just yet, kid._ ” 

“ _I’ll take her any way I can get her, sir._ _Even if it takes **years**. I’ll be right here. She’s worth the wait,_” his younger-self swore.

Noah’s eyes narrowed, clearly pondering something he chose to keep to himself.

With a sigh, Noah returned his attention to his paper and said instead, “ _Well, good. I’d hate to have to explain away multiple mysterious discharges of my service weapon. Too much paperwork._ ”

His younger-self’s expression twisted in overly-dramatized horror.

Despite himself, Derek laughed.

On and on the video clips went. Derek ended up spending the majority of the day sitting in bed watching them. He was able to find countless references to his adult self. At times, it was infuriating how Stiles and his younger-self discussed him in such plain terms. How Stiles spoke so easily about his flaws, strengths, and weaknesses. But the more he watched, the more he realized she understood him. He listened as she informed his younger-self about the man he would someday become and she just… _knew_ him. Like, really knew him. Even the parts he never let anyone see. The thoughts he never put to words. The fears and insecurities he thought he managed to hide from everyone. He should have known Stiles’ tireless, analytical brain would be able to compile all the data, consider the facts, and come up with a complete profile of his personality.

The one thing she seemed to miss entirely, however, was the fact that he was… _oh shit, there it is_ … hopelessly in love with her at his proper age as well. For the first couple of months, in video after video after video, his younger-self tried and failed to convince her that his feelings were not limited to his younger age. But no matter how many times he professed his love for her – his tone ranging from intentionally cheesy to soft and undeniably sincere – she continued to maintain that his older-self would not approve of anything happening between them.

Derek was getting frustrated now, but for an unexpected reason. He found himself actually rooting for Stiles to believe his younger-self. How could she see him so clearly, but be so oblivious to his feelings?

He was about ¾ of the way through the videos. Seeing one that was filmed in a darkened room, he tensed worriedly for a moment before pressing play.

There was barely any background noise. Slowly, the camera moved to reveal his younger-self with puffy, red eyes. He had clearly been crying for an extended period of time. When he spoke, his voice sounded hoarse and weary, deliberately hushed.

“ _It’s…_ ” He craned his neck back to look at a clock. “… _close to 3:30 in the morning and Stiles just fell asleep. We just got back from the hospital a little while ago._ ” A fresh wave of tears streamed down his face and he gritted his teeth, lips trembling as he struggled for a moment to hold back a sob. When he finally got it under control he choked out, “ _This stupid fucking Wendigo took a big ass chunk out of her shoulder before I could get to her. Almost got her throat. Came so close. So close._ ” He shook his head and covered his mouth, his words muffled as he gasped, “ _So fucking close. I can’t even…_ ”

Derek’s eyes widened in panic. What? When had this happened? Why hadn’t anyone mentioned it?

His younger-self stopped long enough to sniffle and wipe angrily at his eyes before going on, “ _It’s dead now._ Obviously _. But it’s like… If I had been just a little bit faster, she wouldn’t have had even a scratch on her, you know? And, God, if I had been just a second slower…_ ” He bit his bottom lip and winced. “ _As it was, Stiles ended up getting… I think it came to like 40 some odd stitches. And a blood transfusion. Plus, she’s got a mild concussion, so I’m doing the wake-up checks and shit to make sure she’s okay._ ”

The camera turned to focus on Stiles’ pale, sleeping face. She looked weak and sick. It made Derek’s heart clench painfully. Medical tape ran along the side of her neck where it secured a sizable bandage that was visible above her hoodie.

Turning the camera back to his face, his younger-self let out a heavy sigh. He sat silently for a moment, chewing at his bottom lip while lost in thought, eyes unfocused and trained on a random point on the far wall. Finally, he said weakly, “ _I could have lost her tonight. She literally could be dead right now and she would never know how much I love her._ ”

Derek swallowed hard at the truth of those words. Jesus, what if she had died while he was still young? What if he had shifted back to his proper age and asked, ‘Where’s Stiles?’ and they told him she was already dead and buried? He felt his eyes flash and had to grit his teeth to hold back the shift.

His younger-self took a deep breath, then nodded, reaching a decision. With determination, he looked back at the camera. “ _If I’m watching this and I’m back to my older-self… Which, honestly, that’s why I’ve been recording all these fucking videos to begin with – so I can see what I missed in case I can’t remember. I want you – me, whatever – to just know that this? This was it. This was the moment I decided that I’m done. I’m gonna make her understand, man, no matter what it takes. She is NOT gonna die and never know. I’m not waiting anymore._

 _“And I don’t care what stupid fucking reasons we thought we had for holding off on being with her. Maybe it was because of the age difference and the fact that her Pops is the Sheriff. Which…_ ” He rolled his eyes and grudgingly conceded, “ _Okay, fair. But hey, that guy loves us! And she’s gonna be 18 in a few months anyway. Or maybe we were afraid we didn’t deserve her or something. I don’t know. But whatever bullshit it is… I hope you – I – can understand why I’m not gonna respect my future wishes._

 _“And if I get her and then change back, I swear to God…_ ” He shook his head, glaring as he pointed directly at the camera. “ _You? You big, grouchy, Alpha bastard watching this right now? You had Better. Not. Fuck. This. Up. Do you hear me? You better treat her right and make her smile and laugh every fucking day for the rest of her life. You better worship her and never take her for granted. Because this…?_ ” The camera turned back to Stiles’ sleeping face again as his voice continued off camera. “ _This was almost the last day we had with her. This was almost the last day she was alive. Don’t you_ EVER _fucking forget that._ ”

The video stopped.

Derek sat there for a solid fifteen minutes in silence just staring at the screen.

When he finally managed to shake off his shock, he realized all of the anger and jealousy he originally felt for his younger-self was gone. It boiled down to the inescapable truth that it was still _him_. All of these videos had forced him to recognize that fact. He could understand all of the decisions he had made and the feelings he had. He could not fault his younger-self for his actions. He had always known – even before all of this happened – that if it weren’t for the age difference and all of his painful memories, he would have been trying to convince Stiles to be with him from the day he met her.

And his younger-self did have a point. Stiles could have died. It could have already been too late. With the way she routinely ran heedlessly into danger wielding nothing but a baseball bat, he could lose her any day. Stiles was precious and fleeting and there was no guarantee she would be there tomorrow. And true, she might live to be 100, but she was going to push her luck and court danger in the name of protecting her loved ones every single step of the way.

So what the hell was he doing? Why was he wasting so much time? Putting so much energy into hiding how he felt?

Feeling remarkably more at peace with things, he stretched out on his bed, and made himself comfortable before continuing.

The next video was of the two of them laying together in the grass. He was holding the phone up above them and it was immediately clear that things between them had changed. There was a telltale ease in their physical contact, the kind that came after getting to know one another’s bodies intimately. Her head was on his shoulder and a bright, dazzling smile was on her face. Her color was back to normal, and no tape or bandage could be seen above her shirt, clearly having been downsized since the initial injury. It was apparent that at least a week had passed since the Wendigo attack.

“ _You know I love you?_ ” his younger-self asked softly before leaning down and nuzzling her temple.

Stiles laughed and shook her head. “ _So you keep telling me_ ,” she teased fondly.

His younger-self grinned. “ _Because I mean it. And I’m gonna keep on telling you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I lo–_ ”

Stiles reached up and clamped her hand over his mouth, laughing and grimacing when he licked it.

“ _Eww. You are so gross,_ ” she protested and wiped her hand off on his shirt.

“ _Oh, stop. You love it,_ ” he declared haughtily, then leaned down and slowly licked up the side of her neck.

Stiles arched a brow in interest. “ _Hey, now…_ ” she purred.

His younger-self chuckled lowly before sucking and nipping at her throat.

“ _Well, that… unffff… that right there… is decidedly not gross…_ ” she panted with a grin as she watched his younger-self’s actions on the screen.

Derek’s breathing picked up at the heated look in her gaze and the way her eyes rolled closed. He was torn between wanting to see how this had played out between them and feeling like he was seeing something not intended for his eyes.

“ _Okay, camera off, lover boy,_ ” she joked, reaching up and taking the phone away.

The video stopped.

Derek continued watching the rest, equally disappointed and relieved to find no videos of the two of them doing anything more than kissing. But he did hear Stiles make a comment about how ‘ _no self-respecting Sheriff’s kid would ever allow themself to be recorded in the act of participating in a crime… or any act that could get them grounded for life and possibly sent to live in a convent_.’ And while they never said it outright, the playful conversations between them made it inescapably clear that – yes – they had most definitely been having sex in the weeks leading up to him changing back to his proper age.

It was jarring when he finally realized that it was not just sex and private declarations of love – they had been in a _relationship_. His younger-self had followed through on his vow to be with Stiles. They were a legitimate couple and had not hidden that fact from the pack. Whether they told the Sheriff… well, that was another thing entirely. But the pack definitely knew and embraced it. They were surrounded by pack members in most of the videos that followed and most times, he and Stiles were seated together – with Stiles sitting in his lap and his arms wrapped around her, no doubt as often as he had been able to arrange it.

The more he watched, the more he understood the way the guys had all frozen in horror when he was oblivious as to what Stiles had been doing these past few months. He was finding himself similarly horrified that he had lost all of this.

He was surprised to learn that he had attended a school dance with her. He had missed most of his own back in high school, for obvious reasons, and it made him feel a swell of appreciation that he was able to have the experience with Stiles.

And God, she looked incredible. Personally, he preferred her in her usual tank-tops, loose flannel overshirts, beat-up jeans, and sneakers. But _damn_ , the dress she had worn to the dance hugged her body in ways that made him hyper aware of the fact that she was still not technically legal.

The video was of the two of them slow dancing and had been shot from a distance, making it clear that his younger-self had enlisted someone’s help to film it. When Derek caught the song that was playing, he realized he must have requested it for her.

Stiles was gazing up at him with a warm smile on her lips, gently swaying with him in time with the music.

His younger-self was holding her close, singing along with the song ardently to her, “ _So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you… I'm gonna hold you like I'm saying goodbye… Wherever we're standing… I won't take you for granted… 'Cause we'll never know when, when we'll run out of time…”_

Derek shook his head and blushed, embarrassed by his own antics. _Jesus_ , he was such a shameless softy at that age. Not that Stiles seemed to mind in the least. Eyes glittering in the lights, she wrapped her arms more tightly around his shoulders and tucked her head under his chin.

“ _Oh my God, they are so freaking adorable together I’m gonna DIE,_ ” Danny gushed off camera, revealing himself as the mystery videographer.

The voices of Kira, Scott, and a few of the others could be heard in the background. Everyone was laughing and agreeing, all commenting on the two of them.

He rolled his eyes when he heard a wolf whistle followed by Erica shouting, “ _Get it, Stilinski!_ ” Stiles and his younger-self laughed and glared over at her playfully.

The final video was unexpected, to say the least. Evidently, his younger-self had been in the middle of recording when he changed back.

Stiles was sitting on a blanket in the middle of the clearing. (He thought he’d remembered a damned blanket!) The sun was shining down between the tree limbs, casting gently swaying, mottled shadows on the ground. She had her legs stretched out in front of her and was leaning back on her elbows, just gazing up at the trees with the wind rustling her hair, sunlight catching in her amber eyes.

Derek sighed at how beautiful she looked. It made his heart ache.

“ _Are you recording me again, you big goober?_ ” she teased.

“ _Absolutely. I don’t ever want to forget how you look right now,_ ” his younger-self replied.

Stiles frowned thoughtfully at that and sat up. “ _Do you think you will?_ ” she asked. “ _Forget, I mean – when you change back? I thought Deaton said –_ ”

“ _I don’t know. Deaton doesn’t think I will, but… well, that guy is weird. And, honestly, I don’t know. So I’m not taking any chances._ ” He moved closer, sitting down beside her on the blanket so he could get a better view of her face.

Stiles groaned and ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head and grimacing. “ _I really don’t want to think about that. I have no idea what I would even do if you couldn’t remember._ ”

“ _You’d just have to explain it to me_ ,” his younger-self said, as if it was no big deal.

Stiles scoffed and idly shredded a handful of grass. “ _Right. I’m sure a full-sized, amnesiac Sourwolf would take this news so well. I can just see it now: ‘Welcome back, Der! By the way, for the past month, I have spent every given opportunity wrapped up in sweaty, naked bliss with your 16-year-old self. That’s cool with you, right? Seeing as how you can barely tolerate being in the same room with me, this shouldn’t prove to be any issue, should it?’_ ” She gave his younger-self a skeptical look. “ _I am sure you will find this whole thing tremendously amusing and in no way hate me and feel like I took advantage of you_ ,” she said, tone dripping with sarcasm and dread. She muttered under her breath glumly, “ _I told you how scared I am of that. It’s why I held off on letting anything happen between us for so long. Big-you? Man… You have been through so much shit. And I just… I never want you to feel manipulated again. I can’t even imagine being the reason you do._ ”

Derek flinched and his wolf whined at her words. Her perception of how he saw her was so skewed, but really, he had no one to blame but himself. God, he only wanted to hide how he really felt about her, and here he had made her feel like he could not stand her. And the fact that she was worried about him feeling manipulated – God, how incredible was she, that she wanted to protect him from that.

His younger-self leaned closer, taking her hand and speaking in a gentle voice. “ _Hey? Look at me._ ” He waited for her to look up. “ _I’ve told you a million times, and I’ll keep telling you until it finally sinks in: I_ know _that I am crazy about you at that age. Without a doubt. I_ know _it. My wolf_ knows _it. You’re mine. I’m yours. Always. It’s that simple._ ”

Stiles nodded but looked back down at her pile of shredded grass.

“ _Don’t worry about it, babe,_ ” his younger-self whispered. “ _No matter what, we’ll work it out. I promise. I finally got you, and I’m never letting you go._ ” He leaned forward, kissing her deeply and angling the camera to capture the moment. When he pulled back, he gazed at her adoringly and stroked her cheek. Stiles’ worried frown slowly shifted into a soft smile.

And then, for some unknown reason, the mood of the moment abruptly shifted. His younger-self’s brows drew together in confusion and his entire body tensed.

“ _What’s wrong?_ ” Stiles asked anxiously, sitting up straight and instantly alert as her eyes scanned their surroundings for danger.

“ _Huh?_ ” he asked distractedly. “ _Oh. Nothing’s wrong,_ ” he insisted with a shake of his head, clearly not wanting her to worry. “ _I just… For a second, I thought I…_ ” he muttered, leaning in closer. “ _Wait… Is that…?_ ” He brought his nose to the nape of her neck, breathing her in deeply.

Without warning, the phone was tossed aside, landing on the ground, forgotten, camera aiming up at the trees.

“ _What are you doing?_ ” Stiles could be heard squealing through laughter. “ _Why are you sniffing me? You’re heavy, you know! Ah! That tickles!_ ”

“ _Wait… Just… I think… Let me just check… Oh, wow…_ ” he could hear himself saying either in growing excitement or alarm – it was unclear which.

Stiles squawked indignantly. “ _Hey! This shirt has a strict one-person occupancy limit, buddy. You can’t climb inside it with me._ ”

His voice was noticeably muffled as he let out one final, astonished, “ _WHOA_.”

“ _Whoa what?_ ” Stiles demanded. “ _And why are you stretching out my shirt with your head?_ ”

It was quiet for a moment, aside from Stiles calling his name.

And then, suddenly, he was growling. And groaning. And crying out in pain.

And Stiles was frantically asking what was wrong.

“ _OH! Oh, shit, Der! You’re…!_ ” Stiles breathed in realization.

Derek winced as he listened to her rising panic, knowing that she was watching him shifting.

A moment later, he heard the change in his voice and knew it was done.

“ _S’iles…? Wha…?_ ” he slurred in confusion.

“ _Ohhhh, God. Okay,_ ” she gasped, clearly on the verge of panic. With a bit of effort, she changed her tone to sound more cheerful, “ _Heeyyyyy, big guy. How are you feeling?_ ”

“ _Where ‘m I?_ ” he asked blearily.

“ _Uh… the Preserve,_ ” she answered hesitantly.

His voice grew alarmed and agitated as he huffed, “ _Wha…? …y’okay?_ ”

There was a commotion at that point, and going from his own glimpses of memory, he knows he made an ill-advised attempt to get to his feet. He vaguely recalls being filled with an intense, primal instinct to protect her. His wolf had attempted to come to the surface right then, but he had been far too weak to shift. He could recall the sight of her trying in vain to steady him, but his bulky form was too much for her to hold upright on her own. All she could manage was to slow his descent and prevent him from colliding with the ground too harshly. He could remember a flash of her face – the fear and worry etched into her features. He recalled the feeling of her hand clutching his tightly as she tried to calm him.

“ _Hey, hey! No! Easy, Der! Just lay still. It’s okay. Calm down_ ,” she pleaded. “ _Listen to me. Nobody else is here, okay? Nobody is gonna hurt us. We’re safe. I promise. We’re safe here. Okay? Trust me… Okay… Good… There we go. Breathe. That’s it. Just calm down._ ”

“ _…hurts…_ ” he groaned. “ _…can’t… can’t… remember…”_ he tried to explain between shallow breaths.

“ _What’s the last thing you remember?_ ” she asked, her voice constricted as if she was holding back tears.

“ _…hunters… Kate… loft… shot me_ …” he muttered.

There was a period of quiet after that, and he could hear Stiles trying to cry as silently as possible, obviously hoping he would not notice in his delirious state.

“ _Hey…_ ” His voice was full of concern as he managed to mumble, “ _…crying? …y’hurt? …Stiles …y’okay?_ ”

It took a moment for her to reply. He could make out the sound of her swallowing with considerable effort and fighting to control her breathing. 

Finally, she sniffled and managed to reassure, “ _Kate’s dead. Don’t worry. She’s never coming back_.”

“ _Stiles…”_ he repeated more forcefully, giving all of his effort to be understood, obviously noting the fact that she had not answered his question. “ _Are you… okay?_ ” he panted.

She gave a quiet, bitter laugh and sniffled again before clearing her throat. “ _Yeah. Fine, Sourwolf. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me_.”

He heard himself grunt in helpless disapproval, clearly at least semi-aware that she was lying, but lacking the strength or mental clarity to fight her on it. After a moment, he heard his breathing start to even out and knew she was comforting him. He could just barely recall the sensation of her fingers running through his hair.

“ _That’s it. Just rest, big guy. We’ll get you back where you belong,_ ” she whispered, sorrow and resignation plain in her voice.

Derek winced at those words. Where he ‘belonged’? Alone in his loft? Not with her? She really believed that, even after everything? She was going to let her fear of his reaction keep them apart?

On the video, he heard himself let out a sudden disapproving groan, followed by Stiles soothing, “ _It’s okay. Hey, you can let go, Der. I’m not going anywhere. I just have to grab my phone, okay?_ ”

Derek felt hurt and bitter suddenly. He had been right to try to keep a hold of her. Had been completely justified in his instinctive reluctance to let go. Because she _did_ go somewhere. She left. It had been two weeks since this video was recorded. He let go, and she left him. His wolf howled mournfully inside his chest at that fact.

Her tone on the video changed abruptly, making it clear that she was on the phone. “ _Hey! I need your help. Derek just changed back and he’s not in any shape to walk, so I need you to come out to the Preserve…_ ” She paused, listening to their reply. “ _Yeah, no… Nothing so far. Like,_ at all _, so do me a favor, Scotty, and just leave it alone when you get here. Tell_ everyone _to leave it alone for now, got it?_ ” She paused again, huffing at whatever Scott said. “ _Well, if he does, he does. Until then, just leave it the hell alone. Got it?_ ” she snapped. Another pause and she sighed heavily. “ _Thank you. Okay, we’re way down off the main path behind the Hale house, out past the waterfall and down that narrow, clay trail – you know, the one that heads downhill?_ ” She paused. “ _Exactly. Right. When you get to that big tree on its side, the one with all the roots showing? Yeah, so when you get there, take the –_ ”

The video came to an end.

Derek sat and let it all sink in.

His heart ached as he recalled Stiles’ desperate, small voice on the phone a week ago as she asked, “So, you really don’t remember _anything_?” He remembered her words and the terrible resignation that had been present in her tone as she said, “Just… forget it. It’s fine, Der. Don’t worry about it.”

God, he thought remorsefully, the girls were all over at Stiles’ place to comfort her while she tried to get over it. To get over _him_. She was really planning to just let him go. To not say anything since he couldn’t remember.

Abruptly, any sympathy he felt for her plight vanished. A severe scowl hardened his features. His jaw set determinedly as he decided, quite simply: **NO**.

His wolf wholeheartedly agreed. It was clawing at him wildly, digging frantically at his control, and snarling in impatience to run to her.

What had his younger-self promised? One of the last things he said to her?

“ _I finally got you, and I’m never letting you go._ ”

He recalled his younger-self’s fierce words to him: “ _You had Better. Not. Fuck. This. Up.”_

Derek grabbed his keys and jacket and was out the door before he ever stopped to think of a plan.


	9. Chapter 9

Noah returned from a quick run to the store, entered his home, and sighed.

He glanced down at Erica where she was posted by the front door, staring out their front window, and all-but growling at the neighbors outside walking down the sidewalk. He turned his attention to the kitchen with an arched brow. At the table, his daughter sat happily scarfing down her second dinner of the evening. Much like her first dinner (just an hour prior), it contained a highly suspect amount of red meat. Red meat which, up until a couple of weeks ago, Stiles herself had banned from their home. His eyes slid to her left and right, to the werewolf and werecoyote that were seemingly permanently affixed to her lately, like a pair of matching Hale bookends.

“Alright,” he announced with finality as he closed the front door.

Stiles’ eyes widened and snapped to him in realization. She knew that tone. She knew he was tired of waiting for her to come to him with an explanation.

Noah walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know…” he began quietly, running a hand down his jaw. “At first, I thought this was just a sort of break-up thing. I mean, I know Derek is back to himself again and I realize that puts you in an awkward position. Given the fact that you have been holed up here at home, and there has been a decided lack of Derek anywhere in the vicinity, I assumed you were planning to keep him in the dark about your relationship with his 16-year-old self.”

“Uhh…” Stiles said worriedly, fork still suspended in the air a few inches away from her face.

Noah held up a hand. “Don’t even bother trying to tell me the two of you weren’t a couple by the end. They didn’t give me this shiny badge for my good looks alone. So yeah, I figured you were keeping quiet so Derek wouldn’t have to feel any guilt over the two of you being together, or maybe it was to spare him from living in a constant state of fear that I’m going to use his Alpha ass for target practice.” He leaned closer to inform her with a scowl, “And, by the way, that may or may not still happen.”

Malia cackled gleefully.

Noah arched a brow at the peculiar girl before continuing to address his daughter, “So, yeah. I was waiting to see how this would play out, figuring at some point I would need to step in and explain to you all the reasons why it was a terrible idea to keep things from Derek. After all, the easiest path is rarely the right one.”

He reached out and grabbed the back of one of the chairs, dragging it across the floor slowly and _noisily_ until it was right in front of her. He took a seat, clasped his hands together, leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, and leveled her with his direct, full-power, interrogation-mode Sheriff’s gaze. 

_Oh God._

All of the girls were rigid now.

Malia no longer found the situation even remotely amusing.

Someone gulped guiltily. (Spoiler alert: it was Kira.)

When Noah spoke, his voice was low and determined. “But see, I can’t help but notice that _these two_ ,” he pointed back and forth between Malia and Cora, “have been sitting on you like two hens on an egg.”

The Hale girls flinched at those words.

“And _those two_ ,” he pointed to Lydia and Allison, “have been supplying you with every single food item that pops into your head.”

Lydia and Allison did their best to appear unaffected.

“And _this one_ ,” he motioned to Erica, “has been alternating between staring daggers out our front window and pacing the perimeter like the world’s deadliest guard dog.”

Erica opened her mouth to deny it, then tilted her head and nodded that it was true.

“And _this one_ ,” he pointed to Kira, “has cooked _at least_ 20 steaks for you, and those are just the ones I’ve been here to witness.”

Kira winced and covered her mouth with both hands, looking the epitome of guilt.

Noah held up a hand, closing his eyes and grimacing as he said, “And I will not even get started on the frankly _alarming_ number of times _Peter Hale_ has been in my home in the past week with the closest thing to a genuine smile on his face that I have ever seen.” He cringed at the thought. Taking a final, deep breath, he locked eyes with his daughter and said, “So… with all of that in mind, I will ask this: Stiles… is there anything you would like to tell me?”

Stiles features slowly shifted into a scrunched-up, apprehensive grimace. With great reluctance, she set down her fork and sighed. “Dad… I might… sort of… kind of… perhaps…”

Noah sighed and waved for her to hit him with it already.

“…possibly… be… just a _tiny_ … little bit… _pregnant?_ ” she said with a wincing smile.

Noah closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead before leaving his hand pressed across his eyes.

The room remained frozen in tense silence for a while.

Eventually, Malia whispered to Stiles, “ _Did you break him?_ ”

“Give him a minute. He’s processing,” Stiles replied.

Frowning and huffing impatiently, Malia waited the requested minute. As soon as it was up, she excitedly announced, “It’s a werewolf!”

Noah took a deep breath and held it.

“We know because my Dad checked!” Malia added with a wide grin.

Noah made a strangled sound.

“ _Externally!_ ” Cora quickly elaborated, glancing over at her cousin with wide eyes as Stiles face palmed. Cora continued, “Uncle Peter checked on the baby _externally_. You know, using his wolf senses. Jesus Christ, Mal. You’re gonna get your Dad castrated.”

Noah exhaled noisily.

Erica pouted, “Unfortunately, we’ve been informed that there’s little to no chance of Stiles delivering an _actual_ puppy.”

Noah groaned and Erica smiled in amusement.

“Seriously?” Stiles hissed. “You guys are so not helping things!”

When Noah’s muscles finally seemed to relax somewhat, Stiles asked quietly, “You okay, Dad?”

Noah sighed and removed his hand from his face for the first time in several minutes. He leaned forward and held out his hand, waiting for her to take it. “Yeah. I’ll ‘process’ it,” he said in a weary voice. “But who cares about me? How about you? Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

“I’m… fine,” she answered with a shrug. “I mean, there are certainly some unexpected facets of growing a baby werewolf,” she said, motioning to her plate. “I may put a permanent dent in California’s livestock population at this rate. But… the girls have all been taking great care of me.” She smiled at them all appreciatively. “And even though it’s still early, Peter really is able to check on the baby and me regularly so at least I know everything is going okay so far.”

“And Derek?” Noah asked pointedly.

“Yeah… he… doesn’t know,” she sighed, her features falling at the reminder. “Like anything at all. Not about us dating and _definitely_ not about this.”

“And what’s the plan there?” he pressed.

“Well, I don’t know,” she answered. “At some point I need to…”

Every phone in the room (aside from the Sheriff’s) suddenly chimed in unison.

The girls checked their messages and froze. Before Danny left that morning, he had promised to keep an eye on Derek’s phone location and give them a heads up if he made any moves toward the Stilinski residence. A single text had just come in from Danny that read: ‘CODE D! ETA 10-15 MIN. GOOD LUCK!’

“Speak of the devil,” Cora muttered.

“I guess he got his phone to turn on okay,” Allison offered.

They all turned to look at Stiles worriedly.

Stiles froze up, unsure of what to do. She should clean herself up, for starters, she decided. Yep. Definitely remove all evidence of the fact that she had been gnawing on yet another slice of cow. And maybe wash her hair and change clothes so she didn’t look like a sweaty, depressed, bag lady? Yeah. Probably a good idea.

“Who are you talking about – Derek? His phone…?” Noah asked in confusion, but then it clicked. A smile slowly spread across his face. “Wait… Derek just got his phone back today?” he asked, watching as they all nodded. He chuckled to himself as he declared, “Oh, this is bound to be entertaining.”

Stiles whimpered and high-tailed it up the stairs. Snatching up her oversized purse, Lydia’s heels clicked hurriedly as she raced after her. Lydia was, after all, an expert on looking flawless even in a crisis.

“Brush teeth. Shower. Now.” Lydia ordered, nudging Stiles in the direction of the bathroom. “I will try to find something at least moderately suitable for you to wear, limited as my options here may be…”


	10. Chapter 10

Ten minutes later, a knock sounded at the front door. Noah surprised everyone present – including the Alpha outside – by commenting, “I didn’t think that boy knew how to enter this house if not by my daughter’s window.”

Derek froze with his hand a few inches from the door, mouth hanging open in mute horror as he pondered the Sheriff’s words. He barely managed to recover before the door was pulled open.

“Derek,” Noah greeted in a gruff, steady voice.

“Sheriff Stilinski,” Derek greeted, inclining his head respectfully and in no way using it as an excuse to temporarily avoid the man’s direct gaze. Taking a breath and steeling himself, he met the man’s eyes again as he asked, “Is Stiles home?”

The Sheriff narrowed his gaze further in reply, squinting and remaining silent for a moment, privately relishing the way the typically intimidating powerhouse of a werewolf was now anxiously fidgeting in a manner that could give Stiles a run for her money. Noah kept all hints of a smile from his face as he decided that – while Derek’s body may have grown taller and he may have packed on about fifty pounds of solid muscle – inside, he was still that same lovesick teenager.

“She is,” Noah finally answered plainly, enjoying the way Derek’s features tensed at the blatantly uncooperative reply. Noah was going to make him work for this every step of the way.

Swallowing with a notable degree of difficulty, Derek asked, “May I speak with her please?”

Noah sucked his teeth and pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side as he gave Derek an appraising look.

“That’d be completely her decision, wouldn’t it?” Noah said pointedly.

“Absolutely. Of course.” Derek assured. And then he stayed rooted in place, utterly unsure of what to do or say next.

The Sheriff left him to stew a little longer.

Finally, when Derek looked close to having an aneurism, Noah stepped back and opened the door fully.

“Come in,” he said, waving for Derek to enter the home.

Derek exhaled quietly in relief, ducking his head as he somehow managed to say, “Thank you.”

When he walked through the doorway and into the living room, his relief swiftly vanished. His brows drew together in confusion. He had known the pack females had been spending a lot of time over at Stiles’ house, but their scents absolutely saturated the space – claiming it. He felt wrong suddenly – as if he were invading another pack’s territory. As if, in his absence, they had created a separate pack structure _within_ the pack.

The girls were incredibly tense. Every eye was trained on him and postures were rigid. The chemosignals were overpowering. He winced as he tried to decipher all of the information bombarding his senses. They were anxious and excited about something, but instinctively on edge.

The weres in particular were extremely agitated by his arrival. On some level, they clearly perceived him as a threat entering their territory. He could feel them working to overcome the instinct to drive him out. Cora seemed to be hiding it best, only showing her distress in the clenching of her jaw and stiffness of her muscles. Erica’s eyes flashed briefly. Her lips were curled back involuntarily, and she was tightly gripping the arm of the couch, clearly fighting to keep her shift in check.

Derek blinked in surprise seeing that Malia was making no such effort to conceal her agitation. She glared at him openly, her eyes glowing and fangs descended. He flashed his eyes at her, demanding that she acknowledge him as her Alpha and submit. To his disbelief, she let out a low growl of warning in response. Cora reached over and swatted Malia’s arm, giving her a stern look. Grudgingly, Malia settled and lowered her gaze.

With his eyes still shining, Derek caught sight of Kira’s aura glowing brightly over Malia’s shoulder. Despite Kira’s human features conveying little more than discomfort, her fox spirit was locked on him directly, staring him down. It was unsettling to say the least.

Movement behind Derek caused him to turn. He was certain his bewildered expression was comical when he saw Peter walking through the still-opened front door.

“Peter,” Noah greeted quietly.

“Sheriff,” Peter greeted in kind, before turning his attention to Derek and grinning. “Nephew, what a surprise!” he said in that way that made it clear it was absolutely NOT a surprise.

Derek watched apprehensively as Peter made his way into Stiles’ home as if he were there regularly. And even more alarming still, the tension in the room largely dissipated. The females settled down, reassured by his presence for some bizarre reason.

Derek’s eyes snapped to Peter’s and he glared dangerously, his eyes glowing crimson in unspoken challenge. Peter’s blue eyes flashed back reflexively, and Derek found himself at least somewhat relieved at the confirmation that his Uncle had not somehow reclaimed Alpha status.

“No need to go for any jugulars,” Peter assured, holding up his hands placatingly. “I promise this will all make sense very soon.” With that, he came to a stop beside Malia and Cora. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders, and they visibly relaxed.

Derek clenched his jaw, racking his brain for what could cause this sort of a response. It was almost as if another Alpha was present – as if these pack members’ allegiances had been divided. But they were still _his_ pack, he could feel the bonds to them clearly. It made no sense at all.

Noise on the stairs at the far end of the room drew his notice, and when he turned, his breath caught in his throat. Stiles was making her way down the steps, watching him anxiously.

His entire body relaxed as a wave of relief rushed through him. His thoughts – which had been in a roiling state of upheaval and disorientation since he had changed back – were suddenly silent, his brain seemingly knocked offline. His wolf chuffed happily to finally be in her presence again, but it demanded to be _closer_. It wanted to crawl all over her, breathe her in, check her over from head to toe to make sure she was healthy and unharmed, and rub his scent into every inch of her skin. It grumbled unhappily at Derek’s infuriating restraint as it prowled inside of him, seeking out a weakness in his control, an opportunity to take over. Derek tightened his hold on it, just in case.

“ _Hey_ ,” Derek greeted, the word rushing out of him on an exhale. His heart was pounding as he looked into her amber eyes. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, desperately needing to do something to overcome the overwhelming urge to touch her.

“Hey,” Stiles answered, giving a nervous smile as she reached the bottom step. For her part, she was gritting her teeth to resist the instinct to vault across the room, leap into his arms, and burrow into his familiar, intoxicating scent. Even at a distance, it was dizzying to her. She applauded her self-control, and glancing over at Allison, found the huntress smiling knowingly. (No doubt wondering where this restraint had been when Stiles spent half an hour snuffling her shoulder.)

Oblivious to Stiles’ struggle, Derek was attempting to get his brain to function long enough to speak. He actually had not allowed himself to think this through – had been too afraid that, if he waited, he would talk himself out of coming. He had taken a leap of faith and was now flying completely blind.

“Can we… maybe go somewhere and talk?” he asked hopefully.

Erica and Malia each growled in response, causing Derek to look over at them in disbelief.

“Oh, come now,” Peter soothed, his grip on Malia’s shoulder tightening. “Derek would never _harm_ Stiles, you know that. And they have much to discuss.”

Malia scowled, but allowed herself to be restrained.

Erica let out a whine, lowering her eyes as she struggled alone with her instincts. Stiles went to her without hesitation, standing beside the seated blonde Beta and allowing her to lean against her side. Stiles stroked her hair in an effort to calm her, and Erica sighed gratefully, rubbing her face against Stiles’ hip and relaxing at the contact.

Derek watched the interaction in bewilderment.

Lydia cleared her throat purposefully, waiting to speak until she had the attention of the thoroughly perplexed Alpha. Her voice and smile were strained as she began, “As you may have noticed, we are all feeling more than a bit apprehensive over the idea of you _taking_ _Stiles_ anywhere.”

Cora’s eyes flashed in response to Lydia’s choice of words, her body rigid as she fought to keep control.

Allison’s jaw flexed as she shifted her weight, subconsciously widening her stance.

Kira’s eyes were now glowing brightly, her normally open expression schooled into calm ferocity as her fox spirit asserted its presence.

Malia snarled as Peter used both hands to hold her in place.

Erica echoed the sentiment, flashing her eyes as she glared out from around Stiles at Derek. She wrapped her arms around Stiles’ waist, resting clawed hands on the human’s hips as Stiles shushed her and continued stroking her hair.

Lydia clasped her hands together tightly and continued, drawing Derek’s attention once more. “I realize that this may be confusing for you. It may help for you to understand that Stiles has been having some… _health issues_ recently.”

Derek’s body tensed and eyes widened in response to those words as he looked over at Stiles. The fact that Stiles avoided eye contact made him worry even more. His mind was reeling. _What the hell was going on? Was she sick? Was it something to do with the Wendigo bite? Why had no one told him something was wrong?_ He scented the air, desperately trying to detect any hint of illness, but all he could identify from Stiles was anxiety.

Lydia went on, her voice determined. “It seems we are all succumbing to the pack instinct to protect our most vulnerable member. Some of us are handling it better than others… but know that we are _all_ understandably anxious over this.” She took a few steps closer, drawing Derek’s gaze back to her. The deadly glint in her eyes and ice in her tone served as effectively as bared teeth to convey her warning. “If she leaves with you, Derek, we are trusting that you will look after her. You will need to watch her very carefully for any signs of fatigue. If she is on her feet, you must stay within reach in case she feels faint. Do not allow her to exert herself and, please, try to limit the stress she experiences during your discussion. Can you do this?”

Derek nodded, concern hardening his features.

Seeing Derek’s reaction to her words, Lydia relaxed slightly. The Alpha was sufficiently concerned. She had no doubt that he would remain vigilant while Stiles was in his care.

“Geez, anything else, Mom?” Stiles teased awkwardly, giving Erica’s hair one last reassuring stroke before walking toward the door.

“Right? I thought I was going to have to say all of that,” Noah muttered.

Lydia made a show of considering Stiles’ question. She shook her head. “No, that should cover it. I already revoked your driving privileges last week and I know I don’t have to tell Derek not to let you drive his Camaro.”

“Is _that_ why the Jeep hasn’t moved?” Noah asked in amusement.

“Yeah, because she totally stole my keys! She’s been acting like a prison warden,” Stiles joked as she stopped beside Derek, doing her best to appear calm despite the fact that she could feel her heart trying to jackhammer its way out of her chest.

“Well, we are all most grateful to Lydia for her strict wardenship,” Peter said with a warm smile.

Lydia inclined her head to him graciously.

And Derek was _officially_ in the Twilight Zone.

“So! The loft?” Stiles suggested, seeing the freaked-out expression on Derek’s face.

“Um. Yeah. That works,” he answered distractedly, casting one final apprehensive look around the interior of the house before focusing all of his attention on Stiles.

“Don’t forget your phone,” Allison said, hurrying to hand it over. She rested her hand on Stiles’ shoulder briefly, making a point of subtly tucking the chain of Stiles’ necklace fully beneath the collar of her shirt.

Stiles’ eyes widened in understanding and she smiled in appreciation for Allison’s discrete reminder to keep it hidden.

“You two kids have fun,” Lydia called, crossing her arms over her chest. “Have her back at a respectable hour, Hale.”

“Again, _my line_ , Lydia,” Noah joked.

Derek hovered over Stiles as they made their way out to his car, watching for any indication that she was feeling unsteady. He opened the passenger side door and waited for her to get settled before closing it behind her. Glancing back at the house, he found the front step full as everyone watched. Malia looked close to racing out to fight him, but Peter still had a hold of her.

The moment the car door shut Stiles’ eyes rolled closed involuntarily. She was absolutely enveloped in the scent of Derek. She breathed in deeply, groaning in relief as quietly as she could manage. Without hesitation, she reached into the backseat and snagged Derek’s jacket, pulling it on and burrowing into it with a contented sigh.

Derek hurried around the back of the car and into the driver’s seat, eager to get on the road and away from the tension from his pack members. Although, once he was reversing out of Stiles’ driveway, he realized he was now steeping in a different type of tension.

“We should wait until we get there to start talking,” Stiles suggested, though she sounded sort of dazed.

“Yeah… probably a good idea,” he answered, glancing over at her worriedly. “How are you feeling? Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine, Der,” she muttered, settling back in her seat and yawning.

“Do you want the windows open?” he offered.

Stiles laughed lightly at that. “No. _Definitely_ not,” she answered, unwilling to let any of his scent escape.

He continued glancing over at her, trying to gauge her condition. He noted that she was wearing his jacket and wondered if she was cold? It was a relatively warm day, but she had the collar popped and seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper into the material.

When he stopped at a red light and was able to study her freely, he found that she had closed her eyes and was taking long, deep inhalations through her nose and mouth. He would have thought she was trying to calm her stomach or something, but it seemed more like… she was _scenting the air_. He arched a brow at that, dismissing it initially. That is, until she nuzzled her nose into his jacket and – yeah, she was definitely breathing in his scent.

His eyes snapped back to the road ahead and his grip on the wheel tightened. The light changed and he focused on driving, but his mind was in chaos. _Had she been bitten by another Alpha? Had he somehow managed to turn her when he was a teenager? Was that why the pack was behaving so strangely?_ But no – he would be able to sense the change in her. He knew she was still human. And besides, he had been told multiple times that his younger-self was a Beta, just as he had been at that age originally.

Another glance over at her and he realized in alarm that she was no longer conscious. “Stiles?” he called, reaching over, and gripping her hand as he panicked.

“ _Hmm?_ ” she sighed, gripping his hand back and interlocking their fingers reflexively. “… _‘m fine, Der_ ,” she muttered, shifting until her head was on the center console and her body was curled up into a ball in her seat.

Derek was torn – the feeling of her hand in his was making his heart stutter and wolf rumble happily. The fact that she had just abruptly fallen asleep was sort of terrifying him.

When he reached the loft and parked, he immediately pulled out his phone and texted Lydia.

**DEREK:** _Stiles fell asleep in the car. Is she okay?_

**LYDIA:** _No cause for alarm. Just let her sleep. She needs it._

**DEREK:** _What exactly is going on with her?_

**LYDIA:** _I’m sure she will explain everything after you get the chance to talk_.

Derek pursed his lips at that, exhaling sharply through his nose. He sat in the car for a while, listening to her shallow breathing and steady heartbeat, allowing it to calm him as he silently debated on what to do. Reaching a decision, he opened his door and climbed out. As quietly and carefully as possible, he unbuckled her and lifted her up out of the car.

Once she was cradled safely in his arms, he took a moment to close his eyes and steady himself. In all his accessible memories, he had never been so close to her before. Well, aside from that time she held him up in the pool for over two hours when he had been paralyzed by the Kanima – or rather, by Jackson when he was the Kanima. And then there was that time the Kanima – Jackson – paralyzed her and let her fall on top of Derek.

Derek’s brows drew together. Actually, come to think of it, Jackson might sort of be subconsciously rooting for them to end up together…

But yeah, anyway, this was definitely the closest Derek had ever been to Stiles outside of life or death situations.

After taking a moment to properly appreciate and memorize the new sensation of holding her, he turned and carried her into the building. He took the stairs up to the loft, unwilling to risk her being startled awake by the noisy, aging elevator and knowing the lengthy climb would not tire him. Thankfully, she did not bat an eye the entire time.

When he reached his loft, he allowed the heavy, sliding door to roll closed slowly and quietly behind him. Glancing around the space, he worried his bottom lip with his teeth in deliberation. _Was it too presumptuous to put her in his bed?_

He looked over at the couch in consideration before frowning disapprovingly. Thanks to recent gaming sessions, his couch smelled like every teenaged boy in the pack (which, for one: _gross_ , and for two: he steadfastly refused to allow her to be covered in their scents when she was currently steeped in his own.) Also, the couch was by far the less comfortable option.

For all the sparsity of the loft, his one real splurge had been his bed. It was almost excessively luxurious, but hey – after so many years of constant nightmares, he greatly appreciated any sleep he managed to get and cultivated a space that encouraged it.

With his wolf eagerly cheering on the decision, he carried her into his bedroom and carefully placed her into his bed. He removed her shoes and socks, then took off the jacket – causing her to pout in protest in her sleep. He smiled lightly at how adorable she was.

When he covered her with his sheet and blanket, she sighed in approval. He watched in amusement as she rolled from side to side, lifted up her feet to pull the blanket beneath them, then shimmied her way down, dragging his pillow with her, and swiftly disappeared into a little blanket cocoon.

There was now a Stiles sized lump at the center of his bed, and a pleased grin on his face. Taking a cue from his younger-self, he pulled out his phone and took a picture to preserve the memory.


	11. Chapter 11

Stiles slept for 11. Hours. Straight.

Derek sent at least 30 texts to Lydia during that time seeking reassurance that this was okay, and he did not, in fact, need to call for an ambulance. He had called the Sheriff several times to make him aware of the situation. He was relieved to know the man was not planning on shooting him for her unplanned and extended stay in his bed. At least not today.

For the first half of the night, Derek paced the room, occasionally approaching the bed and pulling back the covers just enough to see her face – needing the visual confirmation that she was okay. He could smell that she was fine – blissful and content, even. He could hear her heart beating slow and steady. But he still could not shake his worry. Something was going on with Stiles. And while Lydia assured him repeatedly that Stiles’ mysterious condition was ‘not life threatening’ and would apparently ‘resolve itself in time,’ he wanted to hear those words from Stiles. 

Halfway through the night, he took up a post in the chair in his corner. He picked up Stiles’ hoodie and brought it to his face, breathing in her scent and using it to ease his tension. Now that his entire bed and jacket smelled like her, he was willing to risk losing this previously preserved source.

By 5AM, he was making sure Stiles’ phone was out of her earshot and sending out a text to the pack group chat (which Stiles had roped him into many months prior.) He was already dreading the responses he was sure to receive, but he was unwilling to risk Stiles being jarred awake by the arrival of the standard group of rowdy teenaged boys.

**DEREK:** _No one is allowed at the loft until further notice._

 **SCOTT:** _Everything okay?_

 **DEREK:** _Fine. Stiles is here sleeping._

 **JACKSON:** _Pfft. SURE she is dude._

 **ERICA:** _“Sleeping” ; ) LMAO_

 **AIDEN:** _You and Stiles are finally alone at the loft and she’s… sleeping? Yeah, okay._

 **JACKSON:** _To be fair, I’m sure Derek really did spend the night giving her every reason to be exhausted._

 **AIDEN:** _‘Giving her’ lolololololololol_

 **ERICA:** _Bwahahahahahahaha_

 **SCOTT:** _EWWWW._

 **SCOTT:** _That’s basically my sister you guys are talking about. Shut up._

 **JACKSON:** _You shut up, McCall._

 **DEREK:** _All of you shut up._

 **DANNY:** _< 3 <3 <3 I ship it. <3 <3 <3 _

**ETHAN:** _We know, babe. Sterek is your OTP._

 **LYDIA:** _I hate to be the one to rain on the parade, folks, but Stiles really is *just* sleeping._

 **ERICA:** _Boo!!!!!! : (_

 **DEREK:** _Thank you, Lydia._

 **JACKSON:** _Lame._

 **DANNY:** _Wait, seriously? Is she okay?_

 **ERICA:** _Damn. I was really hoping ‘sleeping’ was Derek’s code for, ‘I Alpha-dicked her down so good she’s been rendered completely cum-dumb.’_

Derek let his hand go slack and phone fall onto the chair as he looked around the room in disbelief. He face-palmed and sighed heavily. His phone buzzed rapid fire and by the time he picked it back up and looked at the screen, numerous additional texts had come through.

**SCOTT:** _ERICA!_

 **JACKSON:** _LMFAO_

 **SCOTT:** _Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!_

 **AIDEN:** _hahahahahahaha_

 **SCOTT:** _WHY????_

 **SCOTT:** _OMG_

 **CORA:** _I swear to God I am blocking every single one of your asses._

 **CORA:** _I cannot wake up to all of you casually discussing my brother banging Stiles._

 **ERICA:** _…………like a screen door in a hurricane._

 **ERICA:** _Ba Dum Tsh!_ _X-D_

 **SCOTT:** _OMFG!!!!_

 **AIDEN _:_** _roflmao_

 **SCOTT:** _ERICA I HATE YOU!!!!!!!_

 **JACKSON:** _Ah, I am living for this._

 **SCOTT:** _I need brain bleach!!!!!!!!!!_

Derek rolled his eyes and hurriedly typed a response, hoping to derail any additional comments on the matter.

**DEREK:** _Calm down, Scott._ _Stiles is just tired because of whatever health issues she is having._

Multiple replies came through simultaneously in response to that, making it clear that whatever was going on with her, it was not common knowledge.

**SCOTT:** _Wait, what? Health issues?_

 **DANNY:** _???????_

 **ISAAC:** _What health issues?_

 **BOYD:** _Is Stiles okay?_

 **AIDEN:** _Health issues?_

 **JACKSON:** _What’s wrong with her?_

 **LYDIA:** _Relax. She’s fine. Just tired._

 **ETHAN:** _Is it from the Wendigo?_

 **LYDIA:** _No, she healed up fine from that._

 **ALLISON:** _She didn’t get any infections or anything._

 **SCOTT:** _Yeah, Mom said they did follow-up bloodwork and stuff to make sure._

 **LYDIA:** _Deaton also confirmed she did not contract anything supernatural from the bite._

 **KIRA:** _Her stitches have been out for a long time._

 **ALLISON:** _I don’t think it even hurts her anymore._

 **KIRA:** _She hasn’t had anyone draw the pain from it since Derek changed back._

 **ERICA:** _Lil D used to do it for her all the time, but he didn’t need to much by the end._

 **ERICA:** _Wait… OMFG does this mean we get to call you ‘Big D’ now, Der??????!!!!!!_

Derek cringed hard and grimaced, deciding that if there was ever a reason to use his Alpha voice on his Betas, it would be to prevent that nickname from taking root.

**SCOTT:** _I’m blocking you, Erica._

 **CORA:** _Same._

 **AIDEN:** _Same._

 **ISAAC:** _Same._

 **ETHAN:** _Same._

 **JACKSON:** _Same. I draw the line at her making comments and/or pet names relating to Derek’s junk._

 **ERICA:** _This is the best day of my life._

 **CORA:** _Annnyyywwaayyyy._

 **LYDIA:** _Derek - Stiles hasn’t mentioned being in any pain at all._

 **CORA:** _She hasn’t smelled like she’s in pain, either. I’ve been checking on her to make sure she wasn’t still hurting and trying not to say anything._

Derek exhaled gratefully. He usually hated being subjected to these chats, but it was a relief to have someone else asking for information and receiving instant replies from so many sources.

**DEREK:** _Thank you._

 **SCOTT:** _So what’s wrong with her?_

 **ISAAC:** _Is she sick or something?_

 **SCOTT:** _Is that why she’s been avoiding me?_

 **ALLISON:** _She’s okay, Scott. I promise. No reason to freak out._

 **DANNY:** _She looked fine when I saw her yesterday._

 **SCOTT:** _Wait, you saw her yesterday?????????_

 **SCOTT:** _I thought the girls still had that ‘no guys allowed’ rule going on at her place._

 **JACKSON:** _Quit your whining McCall. You know Danny always gets a pass._

 **DANNY:** _It’s true. I’m awesome like that. :D_

Derek arched a brow as he received a notification for a separate text message. He switched over from the group chat to his direct messages with Lydia.

**LYDIA:** _She is going to be very hungry when she wakes up. I will bring over a few containers._

Derek frowned. His wolf huffed indignantly at the insinuation that he would be unable to provide Stiles with food.

**DEREK:** _It’s fine. I can make something for her._

Lydia took a moment to reply.

**LYDIA:** _Trust me. Given her health issues, she has very particular dietary needs at the moment. We are already stocked up here, and you can’t leave her alone to go shopping. I will drop it off at the loft in an hour._

 **DEREK:** _Okay. Thank you._

Derek sat back in the chair and put his phone away. He really hoped Stiles would wake up soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Stiles returned to consciousness grudgingly. If not for her bladder demanding to be emptied and stomach growling impatiently, she would have stayed in her warm, ridiculously comfortable cocoon indefinitely.

She slowly opened her eyes, looking at the blanket in front of her face in confusion. It took her several seconds to recognize it as the one that had been on Derek’s bed. You know, Derek’s massive, super comfy-looking bed which she had outright _refused_ to let teen-Derek coax her into. (There were some boundaries she had refused to cross despite his admittedly pro-level coaxing skills.)

The previous day’s events replayed in her mind and she rolled her eyes, realizing she must have fallen asleep on the ride over to the loft. _Awesome_.

She sighed and slowly sat up. The room was dim, but sunlight was slipping in through the uncovered windows beyond Derek’s bedroom door, alerting her to the fact that she had slept all night. She looked around and froze when she spotted Derek in the corner, sprawled out in the chair with what appeared to be her missing hoodie draped over him like the world’s most ineffectual blanket. She smiled at the sight.

As silently as possible, she climbed from the bed and went to the bathroom. She took the time to brush her teeth with the spare toothbrush she had kept in his medicine cabinet. She wondered if he had noticed its presence at any point.

Exiting the bathroom, she padded out into the main room of the loft. She paused and her nose twitched in response to two familiar scents: Lydia. _STEAKS_.

Oh, bless that woman.

She followed her nose straight to the fridge, grinning when she found Tupperware from her house on the center shelf. Not wanting to tip Derek off that anything weird was going on, she kept close tabs on any sounds in the rest of the loft and managed to scarf down two steaks in record time. She patted her stomach and pleaded with it to take that as a peace offering – for it to be satisfied until at least after she had the chance to talk to Derek.

Finding herself suddenly incredibly thirsty, she pulled out a gallon of spring water from Derek’s pantry. She popped off the top and brought it to her lips, closing her eyes and tipping her head back, losing track of her surroundings as she eagerly downed the entire thing in one go.

When she was finished, she sighed in relief. Opening her eyes, she found Derek standing at the entry to the kitchen area staring at her, both of his gloriously full-sized eyebrows raised in astonishment.

“Thirsty?” he asked in a combination of amusement and concern.

Stiles winced and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Uh… not anymore,” she answered sheepishly. She crushed the gallon and tossed it in the bin before turning back to him awkwardly. “So… sorry for passing out on you yesterday.”

“No problem,” he assured. “I’m just glad you were able to get some sleep. How are you feeling?” he asked, fingers flexing with the urge to get his hands on her. She looked _so good_. Sleepy and warm and soft. Absolutely covered in his scent. Just _perfect_.

“Good. Good. Feeling… fine. No, uh… no complaints,” she assured nervously. She bit her bottom lip and decided to just rip off the band-aid already. “So, you got your phone back,” she said. “I take it you, uh, were able to see everything on there?”

Derek’s heart leapt up into his throat. He nodded, swallowing as he tried to get his mouth to cooperate and form words.

She held up her hands one at a time to establish the width of the scale as she asked, “Uh huh… and… on a scale of regular-grumpy-Sourwolf… to ripping-out-throats-with-your-teeth… just how furious are you? Somewhere in the middle? Three quarters of the way to homicidal? Where are we at?” Her tone was aiming for joking, but her scent made it clear that she was basically terrified in that moment.

Derek looked down at the floor, biting his lips as he exhaled slowly through his nose and tried to form a response.

“So… pretty mad then,” Stiles noted uneasily.

“But not for the reason you’d think,” he finally managed to say, looking up at her in uncertainty.

Stiles tilted her head curiously, playing with her fingers. “Oh? I thought you had like, one pretty much all-encompassing reason. You know, like one big blanket reason for being pissed that covered all of my offenses uniformly.” She gestured with her hands, acting out covering something up, her anxiety clear in the movement. After a moment, she squinted and cringed as if bracing for impact. Reaching up to scratch the back of her head, she asked, “So… what, uh… what _specific_ reason is making you mad?”

“You left,” he said simply.

Stiles arched a brow at that. “I… left,” she repeated, hoping he was going to elaborate.

Derek huffed. “When I changed back. You left. You said you weren’t going anywhere. But you did. You _left_. And I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

Stiles’ eyes widened in surprise. “Wait… did you remember everything and not tell me?”

“No. But that’s not the point. Even with me not remembering… you should have stayed and told me what happened,” he ground out, trying desperately to keep his fast-rising emotions in check.

He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth because he was sort of overwhelmed by the feeling of being abandoned after he had trusted her. And he was ridiculously distraught over the fact that she had been willing to just let him go. And his sadness always tended to come out as anger. And he _really_ did not want to be angry with Stiles. And his brain was choosing this exact, extremely inopportune moment to take into consideration the fact that, oh _GOD_ , maybe she left because she didn’t _WANT_ him at this age. And he was feeling like an idiot for not considering that possibility sooner. And now he was thinking that he shouldn’t have even brought her here and…

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” she said in a small voice.

Derek opened his eyes, looking over at her worriedly. His spiraling thoughts instantly silenced.

“I just… I figured you were gonna be so mad that I let anything happen between us,” she managed softly. “I was _so_ _afraid_ to tell you. Afraid you’d hate me and shut me out. I figured… even if we went back to the way things were, it would be better than losing you completely.”

Derek’s features softened sympathetically as he took a step closer to her.

“You’re not going to lose me,” he promised as he shook his head. His doubts resurfaced however, halting his approach, causing him to flinch and add nervously, “I mean… unless you want to… to a degree?” He swallowed hard, looking down at the floor to avoid her gaze as he said, “I understand that I’m not the guy you fell in love with… so I realize this puts you in a weird position. And if you want to go back to the way things were between us before this happened, I completely – ”

Stiles let out a strangled scoff sound, effectively cutting him off and he looked up at her in surprise.

She flailed her hands as she shouted in disbelief, “Derek… freaking… **_seriously_**?”

“What?” he asked, honestly confused.

Stiles gaped at him silently for a moment. “You’re ‘ _not the guy I fell in love with_ ’?” she repeated incredulously. “Are you secretly dense? Because I’ve always thought you were pretty damned smart, but now, I am having my doubts,” she declared.

Derek frowned, unsure of why he was being insulted.

“ _Derrrrr_ ,” she sighed in exasperation, taking a few steps toward him. “You literally have it completely backwards.” She motioned to him as she said, “You? As you are, right now – fully grown Sourwolf in all your grouchy glory – _YOU_ are the guy I fell in love with.”

Derek’s heart sped up as he asked with a cautious smile, “Really?”

“Yes, really, dumbass!” she replied, suppressing a smile of her own. “It was _teenaged-you_ that took a lot of getting used to. But eventually, I accepted that it was still you – just like, a Lite edition.” She held up a hand and offered, “A Sourwolf sampler, if you will.”

Derek’s smile slowly spread into a grin as he closed the distance between them. “Is that so? And how would you feel about upgrading?” he asked when he was towering over her, gazing down into those beautiful eyes up close for once. His brow arched inquiringly as his gaze fell on her lips, wordlessly seeking permission. 

“Fucking _finally_ ,” Stiles groaned before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and yanking him down for a kiss.

Derek laughed against her mouth before losing himself to the feel of her. He pulled her close against him, pressing their lips together gently, over and over, testing the way they fit together with ease from every angle. He nibbled at her bottom lip, smiling victoriously at the breathy little sigh she gave in response.

After allowing himself a few moments to appreciate the new closeness, he brought his hand up to cradle her cheek and deepened the kiss. He was immediately intrigued by the groan of longing she gave. Oh, yes, he would be investigating this further. He was going to learn every single sound he could drag from these soft lips. And he was _finally_ going to find out what it took to render her completely speechless.

He spent several minutes exploring her mouth, learning the taste of her, finding the ways she most enjoyed being kissed. He learned how her scent changed depending on how he kissed her, shifting from happy and bright and exploding with love, to fiery and hot and dark with lust.

And when he felt himself starving for more, wanting more than anything to just lift her up and sit her on the counter so he could take her right there in the kitchen, he finally pulled back.

Stiles let out a whimper of irate protest and he smiled.

“How was that?” he teased in a low voice.

“Full systems upgrade. Can confirm,” she managed breathlessly with a nod.

He chuckled. “Glad to hear that things improved with age.”

“Jesus H. Christ on a cracker, _massive_ understatement,” she breathed, still sounding dazed.

Derek stood there for a moment, just taking her in, running his hand over her hair and down her arm, tracing his fingers across her face, marveling at the ability to finally touch her.

“I meant it when I told you I was already in love with you at this age,” he said sincerely. “I really did just get better at hiding it.”

“I think I’m going to be in disbelief about that fact for quite a while,” she laughed. “Like, believing in werewolves and magic and all the rest of it was _way easier_ to believe than _you_ being into _me_.”

“Then I’ll just have to spend every day convincing you,” he replied. “Besides, teenaged-me may have left me a threatening message insisting that I do so.”

Stiles cracked up at that. “Why am I not surprised?”

As the initial wave of overwhelming joy began to subside, Derek finally realized something. “So, wait… whatever ‘health issue’ you’re having… it requires you to eat _steaks_ for breakfast?” he asked incredulously.

Stiles fixed him with a playful scowl. “Is this your way of telling me I taste like a T-bone, Wolfman?”

“Absolutely not,” he insisted seriously. “A _London broil_ , maybe,” he teased.

Stiles laughed, then took a deep breath as she fell silent.

Her heartrate picked up as she bit her bottom lip.

He tilted his head curiously, eyes passing over her face as he tried to get a read on her emotions.

“What is it?” he asked softly, sensing her indecision. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

She opened her mouth several times, only to close it again and shake her head, seemingly unable to decide on how to start. Finally, she smacked her lips together and nodded to herself, reaching a decision.

Taking several steps back away from him, she smiled up at him. “You know… a very wise werecoyote once told me, ‘ _Talking is overrated_.’ So, I’m gonna take a page from the Hale Handbook here and do this without using my words. You ready?”

Derek’s features twisted in confusion, but he nodded, completely unsure of what to expect.

Stiles reached down into the front of her shirt, and his eyes tracked the movement. With a smile on her lips, she withdrew a small piece of metal on a chain.

He focused on it, then felt his breathing hitch in recognition. It was his mother’s necklace. He could see it in his mind, present in so many of his happy memories. His brows drew together as he wondered why Stiles was wearing it. Had his younger-self given it to her?

Holding his gaze, Stiles slowly lifted the necklace up and off of her neck, setting it on the kitchen counter. The instant she released it, she felt the tingle of its magic recede.

Derek exhaled sharply and went completely still.

His eyes flashed as his gaze fell onto her stomach.

He breathed in, and he caught the scent.

Letting out a breath of astonishment, he staggered forward and fell to his knees in front of her.

His eyes filled with tears as he struggled to speak. Stiles watched as his lips trembled, his expression shifting between amazement and overwhelming elation.

He looked up at her tearfully as he asked in a broken voice, “ _Really_? Stiles, this is… Oh, my God… This is really happening?”

Stiles laughed and nodded, then watched as his face crumpled. He burst into tears of joy, sobbing openly and wrapping his arms around her back. He nuzzled his face against her stomach, breathing in the scent of her carrying his child. She ran her hands through his hair, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

“ _I knew_ ,” he finally choked out a few minutes later. He looked up at her, eyes red and puffy but shining brightly with happiness. “Right before I changed back… I could smell it. I _knew_ you were pregnant. I think… I can remember it…” He closed his eyes, feeling his wolf follow along as he focused. For the first time when he reached for a memory from that time, it came back to him. “I knew, and the very first thought that crossed my mind was, _‘I need to keep them safe_.’ And I remembered the night with the Wendigo, and how if I had been just a little faster, you never would have been hurt. And all I could think was, ‘ _They need me to be stronger, and faster, and bigger. I need to be an Alpha again_.’ And that was what pushed me back.” He smiled and laughed as he ran his hand reverently over her stomach and said in realization, “ _This_ is what my wolf has been searching for. Ever since I came back, it’s been so restless. It knew something was missing. That you… and our _baby_ … were missing.”

Stiles exhaled choppily hearing him say those words. “Wow. God, it makes it so real when _you_ say it,” she laughed, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“I love you, Stiles,” he said as he gazed up at her in adoration. “I love both of you.” He brought his lips to her belly, pressing a kiss there like a promise. 

Stiles gave him a dazzling smile. “I love you, Sourwolf.”

He got to his feet, bringing his hands up to frame her face. Studying her features in open wonder, he said, “You know… I think the rest of my memories are going to come back soon.”

“Yeah?” she asked.

He nodded, kissing her deeply before saying in a low, rough voice between kisses, “And I was wondering… if I could make love to you… nice and slow… before that happens… that way I get to have you… for the first time… _twice_.”

He smiled down at her hungrily, watching as she fought to open her eyes, taking in the arousal in her gaze as she looked up at him.

“ _So greedy_ ,” she chided playfully before draping her arms over his shoulders and sighing, “But, I suppose, if you insist…”

“Oh, I do,” he chuckled as he lifted her up, guiding her to wrap her legs around his waist as he carried her back to the bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Stiles had won the smoking-hot, sex-on-legs, Alpha-werewolf jackpot. She had thought so before, but oh, now she was fully cognizant of just how right she had been. Or at least she planned to be fully cognizant of it, once – you know – her brain was actually able to function properly again.

Their lovemaking had been far more thorough, intense, and involved than Stiles could have possibly anticipated. She had grown accustomed to sex with him at 16. Passionate, fun, frantic, playful, often half-clothed encounters in any semi-private location they could get to themselves for more than a few minutes.

But by 23, Derek had a lot more tricks up his sleeve. He was patient and far more in control of his body. With age, he had evidently learned to pace himself, drag things out as long as possible, and wring every last drop of pleasure out of the act. He no longer concentrated solely on chasing a release for them both. Rather than focusing on the destination, he now appreciated every step of the journey. He had painstakingly taken his time taking her apart. Devotedly learned every inch of her body. Charted her moles like constellations with his mouth. Committed her every taste, touch, and sound to memory.

Whereas younger Derek had been all about moving fast – then coming back for more, again and again (and again and again), older Derek preferred to make it last. She was now in the skillful hands of a more mature Derek who valued quality (guh, _SUCH_ quality *chef’s kiss*) over quantity. Each round with him lasted longer than she would have thought possible.

Just… damn. Yeah, she applauded the evolution of the man’s technique.

Then there were all the changes in his body. Can’t forget to mention those because _holy hotness_ , what a difference 7 years made. He nearly broke her brain when he was finally standing in front of her naked. And hadn’t he just looked so smug and pleased with himself over the pained expression of longing on her face.

“Upgrade?” he had teased, grinning wolfishly as her eyes raked over his form. That cocky little shit.

She had whimpered in agreement, nodding emphatically whilst making grabby hands at him. He had given a low, throaty chuckle before slowly making his way over to her. Watching the play of his muscles beneath his skin as he moved, she had reached a very important decision: she was going to forbid him wearing clothes when they were alone for the foreseeable future. She needed to make up for lost time admiring his Adonis-like physique.

But she had time. Because all of this, all of _him_ , was all hers now.

Hours later, the two were sated and happy, enjoying the relaxed afterglow of their _second_ first time. Derek was immensely pleased that he had managed to pull it off before any additional memories surfaced.

Stiles sighed contentedly as she lay back on his pillow. He was stretched out along side of her with his face hovering over her stomach.

“God, I can’t believe I get to actually _keep_ you,” she marveled as she ran her hand along his stubbled, square, arguably perfect jaw.

He hummed in approval, eyes rolling closed as he reveled in her touch. “Likewise,” he sighed as he smiled up at her. Growling playfully, he nipped at her fingers before pressing a kiss to her palm.

She laughed and shifted her head on the pillow so she could get a better look at him. Post-orgasm(ssss) adult Derek Hale was truly a sight to behold. Naked with his hair all messy. A dazed look in his eyes. He was so blissed out, almost drunk on satisfaction. His features were softer than she had ever seen, and she was sort of falling in love with him for a third time. From here on out, she was definitely going to devote a large portion of her life to making him look exactly like this as often as possible.

He scrunched up his face as he admitted, “You know… I really thought I’d be stuck stealing glances at you from across the room for the rest of our time together.”

Stiles pointed at him with a lighthearted scowl. “I hate to break it to you, mister, but you were not nearly as surreptitious as you thought. I saw all those glances. I just always assumed you were glaring at me.”

Derek shook his head. “So you mean to tell me that we almost missed out on having this someday because I failed at being furtive, and you failed at reading my expressions?”

Stiles squawked indignantly. “I beg your pardon! I failed at nothing. In my defense, I only ever caught you looking out of the corner of my eye, and you were always gazing up at me from beneath these scowly-brows of yours. Easy to mistake it for a glare.”

She grinned as she ran her fingers across his eyebrows, _deliriously_ happy that she was now allowed to actually touch them. She had been studying them for nearly two years already, had become fluent in their language. And now, here they were, silkier beneath her fingertips than she could have imagined. She leaned forward and kissed one, earning a knowing little smirk from the Alpha.

“Hmm. I see your point,” he conceded. He stretched with a groan, arching his back, and tensing every muscle in the glorious expanse of his body, then smiled up at Stiles when he caught scent of her resulting arousal.

“Hey, don’t you give me that look,” she huffed. “Don’t act like you have no idea what you’re doing to me with all that naked stretching. I am onto you, sir.”

With a cheeky smile he purred, “Mmm, and you’ll be back ‘ _onto me_ ’ here in a minute, if I have any say in the matter.”

Making a low, pleased rumbling sound in his chest, he rubbed his face on her stomach. It had become one of his favorite things, she noted. The love and excitement in his gaze as he kissed her belly stole her breath.

“So… now that you know I’m knocked up, I guess all that posturing and growling at my house makes a lot more sense, huh?” she asked.

Derek nodded and laughed – an all-new, comfortable, light laugh that she had never heard from him. It was easily the best thing ever.

“Yeah, I was pissed off about that before, but now? I’m actually ridiculously pleased with how they all reacted,” he admitted proudly. Schooling his features into his standard scowl, he added sternly, “Just don’t ever tell any of them I said that.”

Stiles snorted and his scowl melted away.

Dropping another kiss to her belly, he shook his head and marveled, “But seriously, the fact that they closed ranks like that, kept you safe and hidden and cared for…” He shook his head in awe. “They were amazing. I am going to spoil all of them rotten,” he declared resolutely.

Stiles cracked up at that. “Well, good. They earned it. I was a mess – between thinking I was never going to be with you again, and then finding out I was pregnant a few days later. Yeah, they seriously had their hands full.”

Derek hummed thoughtfully, nuzzling at her belly. “I know the perfect way to thank at least Lydia, Cora, and Peter. Something they will all enjoy. I’ll need your help thinking something up for the rest of them.”

“Sure thing, big guy,” she said, taking one of his heavy hands in her own to play with. “We’ll put our heads together on it.”

“So none of the guys know yet… aside from _Peter?_ ” he asked, quirking a brow at the strangeness of that fact. “How did that happen, exactly?”

“Pfft. It’s not like I planned it that way,” she laughed. “You know how he is – eyes everywhere, always lurking in the shadows gathering intel. He figured it out on his own. And honestly? It _pains_ me to say it, but he’s been pretty freaking amazing the whole time. Bringing the necklace, watching over my house – even though he pretended he wasn’t, checking on the baby, working with the girls, answering their questions and mine. Even giving me epic Hale hugs with Malia and Cora whenever I was weepy that I couldn’t hug you.”

Derek frowned at that, sliding up the length of her body and kissing her deeply. He cupped her cheek with his hand, trying to pour all of his emotion into the kiss. Pulling back, he murmured against her lips. “I hate that you weren’t with me while you were going through all of that. Never leave me again?”

“Just you try and make me, big guy,” she challenged. “You’re _never_ getting rid of me now.” She gave a villainous little laugh to punctuate that statement.

He shook his head in amusement. “Dork,” he teased fondly.

“ _Your_ dork,” she amended with a grin, then got back to her original point. “But yeah, Peter has been decidedly NOT creepy ever since he found out. Which is kind of creepy in itself – if that makes sense?”

Derek squinted as if taking it into consideration. “I see,” he said seriously, nodding in understanding. “Basically… you find his lack of creepy disturbing.” 

Stiles jaw dropped. “Did you just… did you just intentionally misquote _Star Wars_ to me in a successfully humorous way?” She clutched her chest as if scandalized. “Derek Hale… I think all of this sex with me is having unforeseen geeky side effects.”

He grinned and rolled over, pulling her up on top of him and guiding her to straddle him as he teased, “Come lay some more of that geek on me, baby…” 

________________________________________________________

**STILES:** _Checking in. All is well. Stand down. No need to send in S.W.A.T._

 **DAD:** _Well if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty._

 **STILES:** _Ha. You’re hilarious._

 **DAD:** _You nearly gave Derek a heart attack, you know._

 **STILES:** _I’m sure he’s forgiven me for my little unscheduled mini-coma._

 **DAD:** _Did you tell him?_

 **STILES:** _Yes._

 **DAD:** _Everything?_

 **STILES:** _Yes, Dad._

 **DAD:** _Good._

 **DAD:** _Now tell him I’m cleaning my gun._

 **STILES:** _Daaaaddddd._

 **DAD:** _Fine. Tell him you two have today to yourselves, but tomorrow, I expect you both here for dinner._

 **STILES:** _How about lunch and dinner?_

 **STILES:** _Like, at lunch we can talk, then for dinner we can invite everybody over and officially announce it._

 **STILES:** _Derek says he’s paying._

 **DAD:** _I should certainly hope so. It must cost a small fortune to feed his little band of misfits._

 **STILES:** _Derek also says to let you know that YOU get to decide what’s on the menu._

 **STILES:** _He is also now watching to make sure I text that I have ‘absolutely no say’ in your selection._

 **STILES:** _I firmly disagree with that, but he said, and I quote, ‘Tough.’_

 **DAD:** _Did he now? Well, tell him I accept his bribe / apology for knocking up my daughter._

 **STILES:** _You are a terrible person._

 **DAD:** _We’re ordering BBQ. A ton of it. With ALL the sides._

 **STILES:** _UGH. I can already HEAR your cholesterol going up._

 **STILES:** _And wait… you are literally accepting livestock in exchange for your daughter??!!!_

 **STILES:** _My inner feminist is so offended and outraged._

 **DAD:** _Not just livestock, Stiles. *Hickory smoked to perfection* livestock. And you owe me, kid._

 **DAD:** _Either let me eat my fatherly stress, or I return to my original plan: Alpha target practice._

 **STILES:** _Artery clogging deliciousness it is._

 **DAD:** _I’m sure Derek will agree that is a wise choice._


	14. Chapter 14

“Feed me, Seymour!” Stiles called pitifully.

She was perched on the kitchen counter, swinging her feet impatiently, with a hand resting on her grumbly stomach. Texting with her Dad about food had left her ravenous. She would have gladly retrieved lunch for herself, but apparently the idea of providing food for his pregnant mate was _really_ doing something for Derek’s wolfy instincts. When she first announced that she was hungry, he vaulted from the bed and used his supernaturally enhanced agility to get into the kitchen before her. And so, there she sat, waiting while he heated up the last two steaks using the _oven_ – as if she had that kind of time.

“Your carnivorous little seed demands sustenance, Derek,” she whined before her stomach let loose another noisy gurgle. “Listen to this! Already growling just like Daddy,” she cooed down at her belly.

Derek chuckled, although she swore she could feel the wolf in him puffing up proudly at her words.

“Almost done,” he soothed. “Trust me – you can’t microwave steak. It’ll dry it out and taste like shoe leather. Which reminds me, what did you do this morning?” he asked with a curious frown.

Stiles scoffed, as if the answer were obvious. “Uh, I ate that shit cold because – as you are going to find out _very soon_ if you don’t hurry up – when my stomach says, ‘feed me’ it means, ‘feed me NOW.’ Trust me, you do NOT wanna see me when I get hangry.”

Derek gave her a slightly worried, assessing look, then cleared his throat and turned off the oven. He retrieved the steaks and brought the plate over next to her. After cutting the meat up and making sure it wasn’t too hot, he skewered a piece on the fork and held it up to her mouth.

Stiles’ heart stuttered as he held her gaze.

His brow arched knowingly, a little smirk on his lips as her scent spiked with arousal.

_Fuck_ , he was feeding her steak and it was the sexiest thing in the history of _ever_.

Ah, werewolf pregnancy.

“You took that ‘feed me’ literally, I see,” she purred before eagerly accepting the piece.

She chewed and moaned in relief, doing a happy little dance that she was finally eating. He laughed warmly at the sight and kissed her cheek.

“You know,” she pondered around her mouthful, “I wonder just how many cows are going to be harmed in the making of this Hale?”

Derek’s eyes lit up hearing her call their unborn child a ‘Hale.’ A thoroughly delighted smile spread across his lips, which he then attempted to hide by ducking his head. The tips of his ears turned a positively lovely shade of crimson.

“You are so incredibly adorable,” she declared as he brought another forkful to her mouth. She accepted it gladly, then studied his features while she chewed. “You get all cute and pink when we talk about the fact that I’m having your baby,” she noted fondly.

Derek bit his lips, blushing again as he fought back another smile. 

She carefully watched his expression as she said, “Hey, Der? You put a baby in me. There is a mini-Sourwolf in here. I am carrying your progeny. I’m gonna be all swollen up with your pup. I’m gonna be waddling around here with a big ol’ pregnant belly, showing everyone just what a virile, manly-man Alpha you are. You’re gonna be a Daddy. Our pack is gonna have its very first baby. You are successfully continuing your family line. There’s gonna be a brand-new baby Hale in Beacon Hills – probably the first of many.” 

His grin intensified with each word and was nearly blinding by the time he scrunched up his face, his nose crinkling as he shook his head. He laughed and admitted bashfully, “I don’t… think I am emotionally or physically equipped to handle this much happiness all at once… let alone to actually attempt to express it. It’s… yeah, it’s gonna be a learning process.”

“Aaww!” she cried, gripping his shirt, and pulling him forward for a quick kiss. “See? And then you go and say that and it’s even cuter!” She squeezed his hand and said seriously, “Now you listen here, Derek Hale. I promise I am going to give you tons of practice being happy. So much, in fact, that I might have to start calling you my Happywolf. Or hey, how about… _Papa_ wolf?” she said pointedly, waggling her eyebrows.

A pleased rumble came from his chest at those words and she grinned victoriously.

“Yeah, your wolf likes that,” she laughed as she accepted another piece of steak from him. After chewing for a moment, something occurred to her. “ _Hmm_ … Hey, wait, do you want to do a full wolf shift and snuggle later?”

He went completely still at that, his lips parting as he stared at her in astonishment.

She plowed on, oblivious to the affect her suggestion was having on him. “I’m betting this is doing all kinds of new things to your instincts. If you want to curl up against my belly in wolf form, we can do that whenever. Actually… come to think of it, I think I kind of really want you to?”

She paused to assess what her instincts were telling her.

After a few seconds, she nodded with wide eyes and breathed, “Oh, wow. Yeah, I _definitely_ want you to.” She squinted as she tried to describe the intense need. “It’s like… I already feel so much better now that I have your scent all over me. But… I want your wolf scent on me, too? Like… it would make me feel… safer somehow? And maybe… like your wolf has claimed the baby as its own, too? Like that acknowledgment is still missing?” She pondered this briefly before waving off her uncertainty, knowing it would not seem weird to him. “I mean, I’m sure that all makes sense to you. Plus, you said your wolf has been restless this whole time, right? Do you think that would help?”

Derek’s face was – if possible – even more adorable as he exhaled heavily. “Y-yes. Yeah. That… um… That would definitely help,” he managed somewhat breathlessly, as if the relief of the offer alone were dizzying to him.

Stiles tilted her head to the side as she studied him. “You already knew that would help you. Why didn’t you just ask me?”

“I… I don’t really know,” he answered honestly and shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been close enough with family to bond that way. Not that I could do a full shift back then, but my Mom could, so I was used to her being around us in both forms. And I’ve never been in a relationship with anyone who would just accept something like that, so it never even crossed my mind to actually ask.” He shrugged as he admitted, “I guess… I’ve just gotten used to not verbalizing my non-human impulses.”

Stiles frowned, greatly disliking the idea of him withholding any part of himself. After a moment, she said, “Well… we know this is definitely a little Hale wolf in here. And it’s been taking the driver’s seat on my instincts like… _a lot_.” Her eyes widened for emphasis. “Like you should ask Allison about that one time I spent the afternoon attached to her shoulder, trying to huff up every last trace of your scent after she’d been over here.”

His brows drew together, and he suppressed a smile.

“Or you could ask Peter about the time I literally growled at him for touching my food,” she suggested. “Me. _Growled_. At Peter. To the point where he yanked his hand back as if I was gonna bite it.” She scowled before noting, “Although, it kind of serves him right for assuming I was done with my plate…”

Derek chuckled at that and quickly fed her another piece of steak, as if trying to avoid a similar fate. She smiled at his feigned nervousness, chewing for a moment before continuing.

“And I’m being all tactile with pack members now. And my senses are getting stronger every day. Basically, things have been getting all kinds of werewolf-y up in here,” she said, pointing to her head.

She reached out and took his hand, guiding him to rest it on her stomach.

Looking up into his eyes, she shrugged and said quietly, “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is… when you’re with us, you’re around family again. And if you want or need anything, just let me know. We’re yours, big guy. We belong to both sides of you.”

His face fell as his eyes filled with tears, and – despite her tasting like a London broil again – he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply.


	15. Chapter 15

“ _Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!_ ” Stiles chanted from where she was sitting on Derek’s bed, banging her fists against her knees rhythmically in time with each word.

Derek fought back a smirk and rolled his eyes. “Seriously? The cheering is not necessary,” he huffed as he pulled off his shirt.

“Well, I don’t know!” she snickered. “I’m putting you on the spot here. Figured you might need the moral support to do this under pressure.” 

He huffed a laugh and shook his head. After removing his pants and boxers, he draped them over the chair.

Her eyes flashed with arousal at the sight of him standing nude again.

“Ooh! Never mind. Change of plans. More sex first,” she said with a grin and waggled her eyebrows.

“Hey, you’ll get no argument from me,” he assured.

She considered it for a moment, then groaned before saying, “No. No, we should do this first instead. We need to. And we can have like, _all_ the sex again right after. And again after that. And again after that, just to be sure we’ve got the hang of it, you know? Really can’t be too careful with these things.”

Derek shook his head despite the fond smile on his lips. “Okay, so full shift… That’s your final vote?”

“Full shift. Final vote. Now… wolf out for me, baby!” she coaxed.

Knowing her tendency to be squeamish and or overly animated when she finds things disconcerting, he expended extra energy to ensure the change went as swiftly as possible. No need to drag this out and give her a play by play of how each part of his body shifted and cracked and changed to accomplish the end result.

Standing in wolf form a few seconds later, he paused to revel in the intense relief he experienced when he looked at Stiles. Any residual restlessness eased, leaving him feeling more at peace than he could ever recall.

“Oh… MAN, you are fucking massive!” she gasped in awe. A second later she was squealing. “And _fluffy!_ Ack! Get over here right this instant! I am so gonna rub them ears,” she warned, gleefully waving him closer.

He leapt up onto the bed, causing the entire mattress to bounce and Stiles to laugh.

“This is so not how I imagined us breaking your bed,” she joked.

The scent of her to his wolf was even more intoxicating than usual. She smelled of _pack_ and _home_ and _family_ and _mine_ and _mate_ and _pup…_ He pressed his muzzle into the nape of her neck, huffing greedily as she wrapped her arms around the back of his head. His tail was wagging, and he mentally winced and laughed, knowing she was going to absolutely go nuts once she discovered that was a thing. There would be no end to the dog jokes. For now, though, she was too distracted to notice.

“ _Mmm_ … you smell like you,” she sighed serenely, rubbing her face into his fur, and breathing him in. “At least to me, you do. I thought you might smell really different, but it’s still _you_. Just stronger. Maybe… spicier? If that makes sense? But yeah, still good. Like I’m safe and warm. And right where I’m supposed to be.”

He grumbled and chuffed happily in agreement before giving her a nudge with his head to urge her onto her back. She went easily, resting on the pillows, her heartrate and scent steady and content. He dragged his nose along her body, moving to her face, down her throat and along her sternum. He pulled away slightly to give her room as she slid her shirt up, exposing her stomach to him. A pleased rumble left him before he leaned in and nosed at her bare belly.

Stiles let out a jarring squeal, causing him to startle and look down at her with his head cocked to the side.

“Your nose is so freaking cold and wet!” she giggled. “Sorry. It caught me by surprise. By all means, go on.”

He huffed in a mix of exasperation and amusement before returning his attention to her stomach. He could _feel_ his pup there. He could feel it while he was in human form, too, but in this form he was connecting to a different aspect of the child. Learning the animal side of them.

He rumbled again, rubbing his face and head all over her belly, licking at the warm skin encouragingly.

_Grow_ , his wolf willed. _Grow, pup. Strong. Healthy_. _Mine._

Stiles yawned and ran her fingers idly through his fur. “Yup. This was exactly what I needed,” she declared drowsily. “ _Soooo_ relaxed now. Just gonna…”

And just that quickly she was snoring.

He looked at her in fond amusement for a moment before nuzzling her stomach and resting his face on across it. Closing his eyes, he followed her into a restful sleep.

________________________________________________________

“He’s not gonna shoot you,” Stiles scoffed as they walked up to the front door the next afternoon. “He just likes making you squirm. He feels like he’s earned that right.”

“Probably earned the right to shoot me, too,” Derek grumbled.

“ _Stop_ ,” she groaned. “Thanks to you, he’s gonna get a grandbaby. That man gets baby fever like you would not believe. He’ll forgive you, trust me.”

They entered the Stilinski home and Stiles gave her father a big hug, muttering in his ear (despite knowing Derek could hear her just fine), “Play nice, Dad.”

Noah rolled his eyes, turning and holding out his hand in greeting. “Derek,” he said, arching a brow.

“Sheriff,” he answered, shaking his hand.

“What are we eating? I’m starving!” Stiles called as she headed straight for the kitchen.

“Shocking,” Noah teased.

“Ooh, I smell burgers,” she commented happily.

“Figured that’d be an acceptable form to fill your red meat needs,” Noah said.

“Sounds great,” Stiles agreed. She went to the pan and grinned as she noted, “Ooh, and you even made a few extra rare for me – thanks, Dad! You guys can serve yourselves, right? Good,” she said, not giving them time to respond. 

With singular intent she began flitting around the kitchen, busily loading up two plates for herself with a couple of burgers, fries, a massive pickle, a few spoonfuls of hummus, a couple slices of cheese, and a pile of hot wings left over from the other night. After filling an oversized tumbler with water, she stopped off as an afterthought to grab a granola bar and three Slim-Jims from the pantry. Carefully juggling her plunder, she went to the table, flopped down into the seat, and dove right in without looking up.

Derek was frozen in place, gaping down at Stiles in astonishment as she began inhaling the food at a truly alarming rate.

Noah chuckled and clapped his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Judging by the profoundly stunned look on your face, son, I’m guessing she’s been reining herself in quite a bit at your place.”

Derek nodded in bewilderment.

Noah smirked. “Your uncle said that might happen. Evidently, according to her instincts, this is her ‘den’ since it’s where she spent the start of her pregnancy. She’s going to feel safest here.” He looked back at his daughter, shaking his head, and watching her demolish her food. “Apparently she’s been eating like this since the beginning. I only caught glimpses of it, myself. I’ve been informed that it’s going to be like this the whole time – something about her being human and her body needing a ton of extra energy to pull this off.”

“I’ll… uh… give you a card to use… for groceries… and anything else she needs…” Derek said distractedly as he pulled out his wallet, barely taking his eyes off of Stiles.

“I’m not even going to argue with you on that,” Noah declared. “I checked my bank account. She plowed through our monthly grocery budget in less than a _week_. After that, the girls must’ve started buying everything to help her keep it under wraps.” Taking and pocketing the credit card Derek handed to him, he said, “I’ll get you a plate. Go on and sit.”

Derek was yet again immensely proud of his pack and the way they had cared for his pregnant mate in his absence. The feeling was somewhat distant, however, as he sat beside Stiles and watched her eat. Faster than he would have believed possible, she had cleared both of her plates, drained all of her water, and was heading back into the kitchen.

“So,” Noah said as he sat down, putting a plate in front of Derek. “I take it this was all a bit of a surprise?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you could definitely say that.” Derek answered as he watched Stiles raiding the pantry again.

“Not _too much_ of surprise, though,” Noah commented knowingly. “I mean, considering you were already in love with her before all of this happened.”

Derek’s eyes widened as he looked over at the Sheriff.

The Sheriff chuckled to himself as he took a bite from his burger, taking his time to chew before going on. “A reaction like that doesn’t spring up out of nowhere, kid. There’s no way you were that hopelessly enamored with her when you were younger, but completely blind to her at this age. And you told me yourself at 16 that you would have waited for her for years. Wasn’t too hard to figure out that you had already been doing precisely that.”

“I… swear… I _never_ would have…” Derek tried anxiously as he shook his head.

The Sheriff held up a hand. “I know. Believe me, I know you would not have crossed that line until she was older. It’s what spared you from learning firsthand how I earned so many marksman medals in the service. But since younger-you already went ahead with it, there’s not really any point trying to separate you two now. Can’t exactly unring that bell, can we?”

“I feel you chose that analogy purely because of how loud I am,” Stiles teased as she returned to the table with another full tumbler of water (and a giant bag of teriyaki beef jerky.)

Derek smirked over at her.

“What?” she laughed. “Your kid is hungry! Gotta feed the seed, man,” she insisted before holding the bag out toward him and offering, “Want some?”

His wolf was simultaneously deeply pleased that she was willing to share her food with him, and adamant that she should keep it all for herself and their pup.

“No, thank you. I’m good with this,” Derek replied quietly, marveling at her.

Stiles shrugged and shoved a few pieces in her mouth. A moment later, she paused in her chewing and asked, “Why is Danny here?”

Derek frowned, looking over at the door and realizing that Stiles had caught the scent before he had. She was not kidding about how strong her senses were becoming.

“Ah, that,” Noah said. “Come on in!” he called toward the front door.

Danny entered the home holding a manila folder. “Hey, guys,” he greeted as he approached. He was smiling ear to ear as he handed the folder over to the Sheriff.

“All set?” Noah asked purposefully.

“Mmhmm. Everything.” Danny answered with a nod.

Noah grinned. “Good. And the other item?”

“Taken care of last night. No problems.” Danny assured.

“What are you two talking about?” Stiles asked suspiciously.

“Oh, just a very early baby shower present,” Noah replied with a smile.

“Uhhhh…” Stiles said with wide eyes, looking up at Danny.

“ _WHAT?!”_ Danny blurted out as he looked at the Sheriff in astonishment. “Is _this_ the real reason you wanted…? I thought it was just because they were…!” he trailed off. Looking back down at Stiles, he flailed and stomped in place for a few seconds before squealing, “OH MY GOD! _Congratulations!_ ” With that, he was launching forward and hugging her enthusiastically. “Eeeeeeeeeeee! We’re gonna have a pack baby! I am so freaking excited! Oh my God, think of all the Aunties and Uncles they’re gonna have! This kid is gonna be so freaking spoiled it’s not even funny!”

Stiles laughed and thanked him, then watched in amusement as Danny turned and hugged a very surprised, very _pink_ Derek just as excitedly. Derek managed to mutter a quiet thanks, and Stiles wondered how he was going to deal with all the attention when they revealed the news later. Which reminded her…

“You absolutely can’t say anything to anybody yet, Danny,” Stiles warned and held out her hand. “In fact, give me your phone right now. And you have to stay here for a few hours until everyone gets here for dinner.”

Danny swiftly handed over his phone. “Yeah, that’s for the best. I so wouldn’t have made it back to my car without telling at least Ethan.”

Looking over at her father, Stiles held up her hands towards Danny and said, “So what gives with you stealing my thunder?”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. I only told Danny and, after what we just pulled off, he deserved to know.”

Stiles frowned suspiciously at that. “What do you mean? What did you do?”

Noah sat up, resting his arms on the table as he looked back and forth between his daughter and Derek. “Well, given Derek’s current, _correct_ age and my very public position in this town, your pregnancy presents a challenge. I would never ask or expect Derek to stay away from his own baby, or from you while you’re carrying it. Besides, knowing what I know now, I doubt his wolf would ever allow him to be separated from you.”

Derek had gone rigid at the thought. He shook his head and reached out, taking Stiles’ hand in his tightly. Stiles smiled over at him and leaned against his arm, reassuring him with her presence.

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Noah said with a smile. “But that means word is going to spread fast. And once people know Derek is the child’s father, they’re going to raise a stink wanting to know why I’m not charging him for statutory rape.”

Stiles and Derek exchanged concerned looks. They had been so busy worrying about everything else that they had not even considered the legal ramifications.

The Sheriff went on. “But the way I see it, no laws were broken when you two first got together. I have a _grandchild_ on the way,” he puffed up with pride simply saying that out loud, “and there is no way in hell I’m letting a bunch of busybodies ruin what’s supposed to be a joyful time for my little girl.” He gave a very determined scowl at that declaration and Stiles gave him a watery smile in return.

Taking a breath, he said, “So – much like every other supernatural case that rolls across my desk requiring a creative resolution – I had to figure out how to fix this while drawing as little attention as possible. Lucky for me, Danny was willing to help.” He smiled over at Danny before opening the manila folder and looking over its contents in approval. “Stiles? I regret to inform you that there was an error on the copy we had of your birth certificate,” he said in amusement as he handed her an official looking document.

Stiles and Derek looked down at it in confusion.

“I know you _thought_ you wouldn’t turn 18 until November,” the Sheriff explained, “but as you can see there, it turns out you were actually born in January. Silly typo, really. Just a little clerical error with the 1 getting switched to an 11 for the birth month. So, according to every single digital source – including the DMV?” he prompted as he looked to Danny expectantly.

“Oh! Yes,” Danny agreed, reaching into his pocket with a grin. “Including the DMV,” he said, handing an updated driver’s license to Stiles.

“Right,” the Sheriff said with a sly smile. “As I was saying – and as it clearly says right there on your license – you turned 18 several months ago. Been legal all this time. And if anyone were to _really_ want to push this and went to check the county records’ office, they would find the January birth date on the only physical copy still in existence.”

“Speaking of the county records’ office…” Danny said, “Peter wanted me to advise you that they should really invest in better locks.”

The Sheriff chuckled at that.

Derek and Stiles both let out amazed laughs.

“You guys… did all this for us?” Stiles asked in astonishment. “Aww _, Dad_ ,” she said tearfully, sniffling and climbing into his lap to hug him.

The Sheriff chuckled as he held her tight. “Anything for you, kiddo. You know that.”

________________________________________________________

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Awww I just love me some Papa Stilinski. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Favorite parts so far? 

I think there will be one more chapter after this to wrap the story, then maybe a sequel to follow the pregnancy? We shall see how it goes. 

Remember, your comments = writing motivation! :D 


	16. Chapter 16

Lydia arrived a short time later, took two steps through the front door, and came to an abrupt halt. Seeing the telltale ecstatic expression on Danny’s face, she held up a finger and arched a brow. “Oh, no! You _better not_ have told Ethan!”

“Wha-?! I didn’t –! I’m not –!” Danny stammered and motioned over to Stiles. “I can’t anyway! She confiscated my phone pretty much the second after I found out so I wouldn’t be tempted.”

“Well, thank God for that,” Lydia huffed.

Her eyes slid to the other side of the room to give Stiles a look of approval. Instead, a deeply pleased smile spread across her lips when she took in the scene on the couch. Derek had his powerful arms wrapped around Stiles as she leaned back against his chest. He had not even bothered to look up from where his face was tucked into the nape of her neck, greedily huffing on her scent.

“That’s better,” Lydia sighed in relief at the sight of them before greeting, “Stiles. Derek.”

“They’re _Sterek_ again,” Danny corrected. “Reunited with a surprise baby on the way. This ship is unsinkable!”

Stiles snorted at that and nodded her head to the new arrival as she said, “Hey.”

The shamelessly smitten Alpha lifted his head, eyes still a bit unfocused as he greeted, “Lydia.”

He gave a warm, open, radiant smile and the Banshee blinked in surprise. She was quite certain she had never seen him make an expression that came anywhere close. She noted how much softer and younger it made him appear – not to mention handsomer. She worked to suppress a grin before declaring, “I must say, _happy_ is an all-new and exceptionally good look on you.”

Derek chuckled, his smile growing somehow brighter still as he replied, “Good to know – Stiles informs me it’s going to be my new default mood.”

“Damned straight!” Stiles proclaimed, leaning back to gaze up at him. She brought a finger up to poke at his cheek as she said, “So you’d better get used to showing off these utterly _marvelous_ dimples you’ve been smuggling under all that stubble, Papawolf.”

Derek’s eyes flashed and he rumbled in approval. (Stiles laughed because, thus far, that nickname had earned the same reaction every single time.) He cupped her cheek before leaning down to kiss her sweetly.

Danny clutched his heart. “Aren’t they the absolute frigging CUTEST?! Like… they were cavity-inducing before. But now? They could inflict _instant_ diabetes.”

Lydia hummed in agreement. Getting an idea for a gift, she surreptitiously took several pictures of the reunited pair before taking a seat on the couch opposite them. “True…” she agreed as she took her purse off her shoulder and set it down beside her. “As a matter of public safety, we should hurry up and announce the good news to everyone so they can go back to canoodling in private.”

“I second that,” the Sheriff teased as he entered the living room, although he did not even attempt to feign disapproval when he looked over at his daughter and Derek. If anything, his features were softer now that everything was out in the open, his relief plain in his eyes.

“So, Sheriff, did you already handle the food order?” Lydia asked.

“All set. Should be here in about an hour,” Noah answered.

Lydia nodded as she tapped at her phone’s screen rapidly. “Good. I have Allison and Kira picking up the balloons and decorations now. Peter is having tables and chairs delivered in about 30 minutes.”

“Oh, wow. You’re really turning this into a party, huh?” Stiles asked in amusement once she and Derek managed to come up for air.

Lydia arched a brow. “Was there ever any doubt?”

“Fair enough,” Stiles granted, figuring after everything, she owed it to Lydia to let her go all out. “So, what are our furrls up to?”

“Your… _furrls_?” Derek repeated, brows quirked curiously.

“Yeah,” Stiles answered as if it were obvious. “You know. Our furry girls: Cora, Malia, Erica. _Furrls_.”

Derek shook his head, eyes rolling closed as he sighed, “I had to ask…”

Lydia barely looked up from her phone as she answered, “They are currently wrangling the guys and making sure everyone will get here on time. They are also passing along my vow that any early or late arrivals will incur my immediate and severe wrath.” A new notification came through on her phone, bringing a smile to her face. “Melissa just confirmed that she can make it. She wasn’t sure if they would need her for another shift, but she’s headed home now.”

“Yay! Mama McCall time!” Stiles said with a grin, eager to share the news. Her own mother was gone, but Melissa had stepped in to fill that maternal void as often as possible over the years.

Stiles’ grin diminished a bit and heart twinged at the unexpected reminder that her mother would not be present for any of this. Having a baby was supposed to be like… peak mother/daughter bonding time, right? Just add that to the long list of experiences they would never share. She drew a discrete, steadying breath against the pain… then smiled when Derek gave her a knowing squeeze. She was hyper aware in that moment of just how bittersweet this all must be for him, all the warring feelings of joy and loss he must be dealing with. Tipping her head back, she nuzzled at his jaw, wanting to comfort him. He pressed a kiss to her brow, leaving his lips to linger, wordlessly acknowledging that he understood where her thoughts had gone and showing his gratitude.

Lydia continued orchestrating the impromptu event from her phone like a boss. “Okay, so, once Allison and Kira get here, Danny and I will work with them on getting the back yard decorated and set up, that way it will all be out of sight when everyone gets here…” She tapped at the screen for a moment before relaying, “Quick question from Peter: Will Derek be sleeping here until the baby is born?”

Derek’s eyes widened in surprise before landing on the Sheriff. He opened his mouth but was unsure of how to reply.

Sparing him, Noah held up a hand to the Alpha and explained, “As we were discussing earlier, this is the place Stiles will feel safest during the pregnancy. And you are the person she will feel safest with. It only makes sense to combine the two.”

Derek blinked in surprise, not sure how to respond and completely blown away by the Sheriff’s casual response. Stiles was similarly thrown.

Lydia simply nodded, taking Noah’s reply as the matter being decided. “Which leads me to question number two: Will we need to bring Derek’s bed here?”

“What size is it?” Noah asked, turning to address her directly.

Before Derek could attempt to speak, Lydia replied, “A California King with a frame and headboard.”

Noah considered this for a few seconds. “Probably a good idea to bring it. The mattress up there would be a tight squeeze for the two of them already – but Stiles is only going to get progressively bigger as the months go by. They’re going to need the extra room.”

Lydia nodded. “That’s what Peter and I were thinking. And it would be better to just move Derek’s bed here than to buy a brand new one that’s covered with unfamiliar scents. Peter said it would be impossible for Stiles to sleep on something that smelled like strangers.”

Stiles and Derek’s heads turned from side to side as they watched this conversation play out without any input from them.

“A California King…” Noah said as he rubbed his jaw in contemplation. “That’s gonna take up a pretty big chunk of the floor space in there. We can move Stiles’ desk into the spare room to make sure there’s still enough space in the bedroom. And we can move the dresser from the spare room to the bedroom for Derek’s clothes.”

“Good thinking,” Lydia agreed as she hurriedly typed on her phone. “I’ll have the guys get everything moved around up there later tonight after things wind down. Peter says he is renting a truck now – it will be waiting outside the loft for when we’re ready to move Derek’s bed.” She tilted her head thoughtfully before asking, “Should we put the rest of the spare room furniture out in the garage?”

“For now, that’s fine,” Noah answered. “But I’ll be donating all of that stuff.” He grinned as he declared, “After all, I’m planning on turning that room into a nursery soon. That way my future grandbaby has a place to stay when they come visit Grampa.”

“ _Do you think they remember we’re even here?_ ” Stiles stage whispered to Derek.

“ _Do you think they remember that I’m the Alpha?_ ” Derek whispered back in amusement.

“ _Do you think they remember that I’m the one having the baby?_ ” Stiles added purposefully.

Lydia scoffed and looked over at her. “Stiles, _please_. You may be the one carrying and pushing that baby out, but need I remind you that your father is getting his first grandchild AND our pack is gearing up to welcome its very first baby? This is momentous all around. You should get used to the fact that you have an army of support at your disposal. And I, for one, intend to put it to good use for you,” she declared. With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned back to Noah. “Shall we go finalize the furniture layout while we wait?”

“Let me just grab my measuring tape,” Noah answered with a smile.

Danny stood and followed along after Lydia to help while Stiles and Derek watched in bewilderment. Once Noah had made his way upstairs with the others, Stiles turned and looked up at her Alpha.

“Soooo… given certain… _recent events_ …” Stiles said with a smirk, “I’m guessing it would probably be unwise to let anyone else move that mattress.”

Derek huffed a laugh and agreed, “Oh, incredibly unwise – but only because I’d bite anyone stupid enough to get their scent on _our_ bed.” Given the quirk of his brow, she knew that he was only half-kidding. “I want it to smell just the way we left it… like _US…_ ” he said in a low, gravelly tone that made her pulse race. He smiled knowingly as he added, “And trust me, they won’t need to be near the bed to be able to smell those ‘recent events.’ They’ll catch the scent on us the second they get here.”

Stiles winced at that, but quickly decided that being able to have Derek all to herself was more than worth the jokes she would have to endure from the pack.

“I suppose this is true,” she granted. Looking up at him from under her lashes as she teased, “After all, you were _very_ thorough.”

He grinned – the wolfish one that showed off all his pearly white teeth. Bringing his mouth to her ear, he whispered roughly, “Hmm… I don’t know… I think I might have missed a spot or two…”

Stiles shivered and managed to reply somewhat breathlessly, “Well, we can’t have that.”

He rumbled in agreement and nipped at her earlobe. “No, we can’t. I’d better keep going over everything… just to be sure…”

“I guess it’s a good thing my Dad is working the morning shift tomorrow,” she said.

“That is a very good thing,” he chuckled. “I mean, I _would say_ that we could christen your bedroom tonight, but… I know you won’t be able to stay quiet for what I’m planning to do to you.”

Stiles whimpered.

Derek smiled victoriously.

_____________________________________________________

The next couple of hours were a whirlwind of organized chaos. Thankfully, Stiles’ body decided it was a perfect time to take another mini coma.

Derek stayed on the couch with her sleeping in his lap, his arms wrapped around her protectively as he silently marveled over her… over the ability to touch and hold her like this. He had always secretly carried in his heart an infinitesimal spark of hope that someday he and Stiles might somehow get here, but he had never dared to fully believe that it could really happen.

Stiles was a good thing. And good things never happened for him.

But here she was, all his, and carrying his child. And here he was, sitting in her living room, right out in the open, not needing to hide his love for her from anyone. It was all still so overwhelming.

He pressed his nose to the top of her head and breathed her in deeply, already greatly missing the scent of their baby. He knew the necklace was necessary (in order to pull off the surprise reveal that evening, and beyond that, to keep Stiles safe), but he had to fight the constant impulse to take it off her. He soothed his restless wolf by vowing that any time he and Stiles were in bed, the necklace would not be allowed. They would be careful to wash and burn herbs to cover it each time they left the bedroom, but there, in that intimate space, he would not be denied the unmasked, divine scent of his pregnant mate.

He tried to keep his reflexive blushing to a minimum as the girls arrived and reacted to the sight of them together. Their responses were varied, but all genuinely joyous. They covered their mouths to suppress squeals and hopped around excitedly (Kira); smiled warmly and cried a few happy tears (Allison); gave a pointed sniff, grinned, and waggled their eyebrows suggestively (Erica, _of course_ ); flashed eyes and rumbled contentedly (Malia); and even gave him a forceful, surprisingly painful, congratulatory punch in the bicep not serving as Stiles’ pillow (Cora.) He gritted his teeth and hissed as he smiled up at his sister. She took advantage of his unwillingness to let Stiles go and tousled his hair playfully before setting out to find Lydia.

Peter came to a complete halt when he entered the house. He stood still for a moment, a surprisingly wistful smile on his face and suspiciously wet eyes. Nodding to Derek, he went about having the tables and chairs offloaded and set up in the backyard. Derek smiled when he heard Peter offering the delivery men a larger tip if they kept quiet so Stiles would not be disturbed.

Stiles slept deeply through the flurry of activity, and with less than an hour remaining before the rest of the pack would arrive, Lydia approached the couch.

“Stiles… you need to get up and put on clothes you _haven’t_ slept in,” Lydia said quietly, earning not as much as a twitch in response.

Derek chuckled and leaned down to kiss Stiles’ cheek. “Hey, sleepyhead. You’re going to sleep through your own party.”

“ _Our_ party,” she corrected as she hid her face against his chest stubbornly. Her voice was muffled as she added, “I didn’t knock myself up, big guy.”

Derek huffed at that. “True… but it doesn’t change the fact that, if you don’t get up, Lydia may just strip you down and change your clothes right here in the living room.”

“Don’t test me,” Lydia warned in amusement. “I just might do it.”

Stiles groaned and grudgingly sat up with Derek’s help. “Fine. But only because I have to pee so bad.”

Lydia took her hand and said, “Come on. Bathroom first, then clothes. And hey, I’ll even feed you.”

At that, Stiles was blinking the sleep from her eyes. “ _Oooh_. Don’t hold out on me, red. What do you have?” Her nostrils flared suspiciously. “Do I detect that fancy ass chocolate you’re secretly addicted to?”

“Hmm… possibly… I guess you’ll just have to follow me and find out,” Lydia teased, holding her purse well out of reach when Stiles tried to grab it. 

Derek shook his head fondly and watched them head upstairs, then took the opportunity to stand and stretch. He made his way over to the back door and headed outside, his eyes widening in surprise at how much they had accomplished in such a short time.

“Impressed? You can say it. You’re totally impressed,” Danny joked as he tied the last bundle of balloons off to one of the tables.

Derek nodded and answered on an exhale, “Okay then. I am impressed.”

Kira and Allison smiled over at him, pleased to hear their efforts were appreciated.

Peter stepped up beside Derek and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze in greeting. “Glad to see your conversation with Stiles went well.”

“It did,” Derek confirmed. They stood together quietly for a moment before Derek said, “Thank you, by the way, for everything you did for her. It was… _uncharacteristically decent_ of you,” he joked, giving his uncle a feigned suspicious side-eye.

Peter bit back a smile, crossing his arms over his chest as he pretended to sulk, “Well, I _would_ say ‘you’re welcome’, but that was quite possibly the worst ‘thank you’ I have ever received in my life.”

Derek huffed a light laugh as he clapped his uncle on the back and held his gaze for a few seconds. No words were needed. The look alone conveyed the sincerity and depth of his gratitude.

Peter gave an affectionate smile in return and nodded. Clearing his throat, he looked out across the yard. “Anyway, it was my pleasure,” he declared dismissively with a wave before clasping his hands behind his back. “After all, it is no secret that Stiles has always been my favorite. I admired her even when I was insane, so this is a most fortunate turn of events. A human girl headstrong and brave enough to stare down a feral Alpha in the middle of a killing spree and tell him – quite resolutely – to ‘ _shove’_ his offer of the bite ‘ _directly up_ ’ his ‘ _furry ass_ ’ is more than worthy of becoming my niece.”

Derek’s brow quirked at the casual mention of Peter’s offer to bite Stiles. It seemed incredibly unwise on his uncle’s part to voluntarily broach this subject, considering – when Derek had first learned of that little incident – he had beaten Peter to a pulp in retaliation, vowed to eviscerate him if he ever touched Stiles again, and then tossed him out a 4th story window. Come to think of it, that had been very cathartic for Derek…

Clearly aware of his reminiscing, Peter smirked over at him. In a lower, more genuine tone, he stated, “She is the perfect Alpha’s Mate, nephew: Intelligent, loyal, cunning, and capable of anything in the defense of her loved ones… You have chosen splendidly.”

Derek’s brow twitched and he swallowed hard, it took a lot of effort to appear unaffected by his uncle’s words. It meant more than he expected to hear his Peter’s approval of his mate – as if, by extension, he was receiving the blessing of his mother and father, of his grandparents and siblings. As if Peter was acting as the Hale family’s messenger. His jaw clenched as he fought back his emotions.

After a moment, he recovered enough to give Peter a look of mock wariness. “You know, Stiles was right… it really is somehow creepier when you’re _not_ being creepy.”

Peter laughed at that and nodded. “Nice to know I’ve not lost my touch. I do have a reputation to maintain, after all.”

“No worries,” Stiles declared as she exited the house behind them, sporting Lydia-approved hair and light makeup, dressed in fresh clothes, and clutching a half-eaten bar of bribery chocolate in hand. She gave the older wolf a wide grin and teased, “You retain your hard-earned title as the-creepiest-creeper-who-ever-did-creep.” Holding up a hand, she whispered to him behind it, “And I won’t tell anyone you’re secretly a softy.”

Peter scoffed at that and rolled his eyes in amusement.

Derek held out his arm toward her, fully aware of just how brightly he was smiling as she moved to stand beneath it and tucked herself into his side. Yeah, that was _never_ going to get old, he decided as he draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

Out in the yard, Danny and Kira squealed in unison over their cuteness, causing the others to laugh.

_____________________________________________________

Before long, the house was filling up with the new arrivals. Derek made a point of keeping Stiles beside him the entire time, wordlessly informing each pack member of his reestablished claim from the second they walked through the door. Their sense of smell would do the same, of course, but his wolf felt the need to posture and he indulged it. Stiles, for her part, did not call him out on it. The knowing little smirks she kept giving him made it clear that she would be teasing him about it later, though.

“Oh _NO_ ,” Jackson moaned in misery when he saw them together. “We’re back to being subjected to _this_ again?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Uh, if by ‘ _this’_ you mean infinite levels of adorableness and complete couple goals, then _YES_. Don’t come in here with all that negative energy, Jackson, or I will personally break my foot off in your werewolf ass.”

Lydia gave a dangerous smile as she added, “And I’ll help him do it.”

Ethan shrugged and added, “I’d back them both up.”

Aiden chimed in, “I’m genetically obligated to help my brother kick ass, soooo…”

Stiles held up her hand and said, “I’d jump into the fight just for fun.”

Derek’s eyes flashed as he locked gazes with Jackson and added dangerously, “And at _that_ point, you’d have to deal with _me_.”

Jackson held up his hands and paled as he huffed anxiously, “Jesus Christ, fine! Forget I even said anything.”

“Already forgotten,” Stiles said cheerfully. “So, who are we still waiting on? Scott and Mrs. M?”

“Wait! We’re here! We’re here! Don’t send Lydia after us!” Scott called as he and his mother walked through the front door. When he spotted Stiles, he made a bee line for her, holding his arms up and grinning ear to ear. “Oh, finally – I was going through bestie withdraw over here!”

Derek’s brows drew together as his features shifted into a deep scowl. His grip on Stiles reflexively tightened.

At the very last second, Scott seemed to notice Derek attached to Stiles’ side and skidded to a halt. He looked up at the Alpha worriedly and winced. “Uh… Der? Am I allowed to hug my best friend? Orrrrr am I about to get put through another wall?”

Taking a deep, calming breath, Derek grudgingly relaxed his hold on Stiles and nodded for Scott to go ahead.

Scott gave a big, dopey, relieved smile and happily hugged Stiles. “I missed you! God, I haven’t seen you in like weeks!”

“I know. My bad, dude. But it’s all good now,” she answered as she ruffled his hair.

“So, what’s been going on with you?” he asked as he relaxed his hold and stepped back. His eyes slid over her in concern. “I heard you were having health problems or something? Were you, like, sick or…?”

“Well, that’s sort of what we wanted to tell everyone.” Stiles glanced around the crowded room, catching Lydia’s eye and calling out, “Is everyone here?”

“All present and accounted for,” Lydia confirmed with a nod.

She looked up at Derek and smiled, squeezing his hand excitedly. “Ready to do this?”

“I am,” he answered, then added, “And I’m already bracing for how loud the response is going to be.”

She laughed and turned to the room. “Okay, everyone – listen up for a minute!” The room rapidly fell to silence and she mock pouted. “Oh, so cooperative. Damn, I was hoping for an excuse to make Derek go all Alpha growly.”

“As if you haven’t heard plenty of that already,” Erica muttered, giving Stiles a devilish grin and tapping her nose purposefully before winking.

Stiles rolled her eyes. “ANYWAY… we wanted to bring you all over here to announce to those of you who haven’t heard yet…” She reached up and removed the necklace, handing it over to Derek as she said, “I’m pregnant!” She watched as eyes flashed all around the room, each of the guys inhaling sharply in astonishment as their senses confirmed her words.

The room erupted a second later – reactions ranging from shouts to screeches to applause.

Melissa was laughing and crying as she dove into Noah’s arms. “A grandbaby?! We’re having a grandbaby!”

“Oh my God, Stiles! No freaking way! I’m gonna be an Uncle?!” Scott sobbed, and within seconds he was pulling her into another bro-hug and blubbering into her shoulder. “You’re gonna be such an awesome Mom! And Derek, dude, you’re gonna be such an amazing Dad! I’m so happy for you guys!” he bawled.

Stiles patted him on the back and looked up at Derek as she joked, “Yeah, the McCalls have always been happy criers.”

Derek’s attention was pulled to his Betas who were all in front of him, reaching out to shake his hand and offer their congratulations. He smiled and thanked each of them, even as his head spun from the excitement of the moment. It was overwhelming – his own elated emotions in addition to the heartfelt joy of every person in the room.

He looked down appreciatively when he felt Stiles gripping his hand, grounding and calming him. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his side, taking over in talking as everyone seemed to ask questions at once. 

Peter already had herb bundles ready around the house and – a few minutes before they all went outside to eat and celebrate, he lit them to neutralize the scent. Stiles put her necklace back on and – once sniff checks confirmed that no traces were left behind – everyone went out to the backyard.

_____________________________________________________

“God, just _look_ at him,” Lydia commented in amazement a short while later, her voice mixing in with all the noisy conversations going on around them. She nodded in the direction of the table where their Alpha was seated with Stiles, Scott, Noah, Melissa, Peter, Jordan, and Chris.

Derek was currently joking around with Stiles. Whatever she said had him clutching his stomach, throwing his head back, and laughing boisterously.

“Has he ever looked like that?” Isaac asked before digging into his barbeque chicken.

“No. Well… at least, not at _this_ age,” Erica laughed and shoveled a spoonful of potato salad into her mouth.

Derek was rolling his eyes now, waving Stiles off as she fought to keep a straight face and insisted on something.

Seeing the curious looks on Lydia and Allison’s faces, Cora relayed, “She’s messing with him, saying if the baby is a girl, they should name her ‘ _Ophelia Emma Jean’_.”

“Why is that…?” Allison started, but her eyes closed, and she grinned when she heard it. “As in, ‘ _OMG’?”_

The girls all burst out laughing.

“She says, ‘The women of the pack have spoken, Der, and they have named our child OMG. There’s no use fighting it,’” Cora chuckled.

The other table erupted in another round of raucous laughter.

Boyd chuckled and relayed for those without supernaturally enhanced hearing, “She told him if he would rather name their kid after her Dad’s reaction, it could be ‘ _Facepalm Hale the first’_.”

They all focused on their food for a couple of minutes before conversation picked back up again.

Aiden finished chewing and concluded in amusement, “So, Derek knocked Stiles up when he was a teenager, then woke up as an adult with no memories and got hit with the fact that – _not only_ had he been screwing Stiles, but also – he has a kid coming. _MAN_. That must have been one hell of a shock.”

Cora brandished her fork and threatened, “Talk about my brother ‘ _screwing’_ Stiles again while I’m eating, and I swear I will neuter you where you sit.”

Aiden held up his hands in surrender, then winked as he flashed a cocky grin.

Cora scoffed and rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the mountain of ribs on her plate. 

“Does anyone know if Derek ever got his memories back?” Danny asked curiously as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Well even if he hasn’t, Stiles has clearly been giving him in depth reenactments of how their baby was conceived,” Erica said with a grin.

“ _Hmm_ , yeah, they both absolutely reek of sex,” Malia agreed with a nod, tearing off a sizable chunk of steak. With a grin, she cheerfully added around her mouthful, “Good for them!”

Cora rolled her eyes and grumbled down at her plate.

“Seriously, though – I haven’t heard if he remembered yet,” Isaac answered. “Have any of you?”

Everyone shook their heads, but as they looked around the table, they realized that Jackson wasn’t paying attention.

Lydia elbowed him and said, “Hey, do you know whether Derek has his memories back?”

Jackson grunted noncommittally in reply, eyes trained on Stiles and Derek.

Cora arched a brow and tossed a bone directly at the side of his head. “Hey, pretty boy! What’s your deal?”

He turned back toward her with a scowl, and everyone sat up straighter seeing his eyes lit up.

“Whoa, bro. Your high beams are on,” Aiden warned, motioning to his eyes purposefully.

Jackson arched a confused brow, then blinked repeatedly to get them to return to normal.

“Uhhh… what the hell was that?” Danny demanded.

“I don’t… I’m not sure,” Jackson muttered, shaking his head and shifting awkwardly before returning his attention to Stiles and Derek.

Everyone exchanged perplexed looks.

A smile slowly spread across Cora’s lips before she said, “Oh. _OH_ … Jackson. You’re Derek’s first Beta, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, so what?” Jackson asked defensively.

Cora’s smile shifted into a full-blown grin. “Aww… pookie bear. Are you fighting off some new instincts over there?” she teased knowingly. She lifted her hand, catching her uncle’s attention and waving him over to them.

“I don’t know what’ you’re talking about,” Jackson lied lamely.

“Uh huh. _Sure_ you don’t,” Cora said with a disbelieving look.

“Problem?” Peter asked as he came over, stopping behind his niece and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“It seems Jackson over here – you know, Derek’s _first Beta_ – is struggling with some confusing new impulses and doesn’t want to talk about it,” Cora relayed.

Peter fought back a smile as he caught on. “Oh really?” he asked in amusement.

“It’s nothing. Leave it alone,” Jackson growled.

“Nothing. _Right_ ,” Peter said nonchalantly, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “Well, if it’s nothing, then I’ll just get back to what I was doing. I’m supposed to bring out another container of the cucumber tomato salad from the fridge. Vitamins and such – very good for the baby. Stiles is quite partial to it, apparently.”

“I’ll get it!” Jackson called as he shot to his feet and raced for the house.

Peter and Cora shared a laugh.

“What was that all about?” Ethan asked as everyone watched in bemusement.

“Jackson is Derek’s first Beta,” Peter said, as if that explained everything. When it became clear that they were waiting for him to elaborate, he sighed. “You all feel protective of Stiles, but it is even stronger for Jackson. Now that he is aware of the baby, his wolf is eager to support his Alpha by helping to defend and provide for Stiles. Given their mutual dislike for one another, you can imagine how confusing that must be for him.”

“About as confusing as this is going to be for Stiles,” Erica said with a grin as they watched Jackson rushing over to deliver the requested container of salad to the pregnant Alpha’s mate.

Stiles turned and looked up in utter bafflement as Jackson eagerly handed it over to her. While she awkwardly thanked him, Derek gave a knowing grin, flashing his eyes at his Beta and inclining his head to him in approval. Jackson smiled, clearly thrilled to have pleased his Alpha, and hovered nearby, not even bothering to return to his seat.

_____________________________________________________

“Alright, everyone. Listen up,” Derek called over the commotion, waiting for everyone to quiet down. He looked down at Stiles where she stood beside him, giving her a smile as he squeezed her hand. They had agreed for her to do most of the talking. It went without saying that it would take a while for him to be comfortable speaking so openly in front of everyone when not barking orders at them during training or leading them into a fight.

She turned and addressed their pack. “We wanted to say how happy we are to be able to share this with you all. In the past couple of years, we’ve come together to form this patchwork family and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Derek set out across the yard carrying a stack of envelopes.

Stiles went on, “For our ladies, Derek wanted to give each of you a token of his gratitude for taking care of me these past couple of weeks. Do him a favor and try to spare him any touchy-feely moments while he passes these out. He’s already being inundated by fluffy feelings from me 24/7 and we don’t want to shock his system too much,” she joked.

Derek paused and gave her a mock scowl as the others laughed. He slowly made his way around the table, handing each of the girls an envelope with their name on it, muttering his quiet thanks before moving on. Everything he wanted to say was written inside each card. It was so much easier than trying to say it out loud.

When he finally made it back to Stiles’ side, he let out a sigh of relief.

“ _Safe!”_ Stiles whispered playfully and he smirked over at her.

It only took less than a minute for the reactions to start.

Erica started choking on her drink, needing to be smacked on her back to clear her airway.

“Derek, holy fucking shit!” she screeched, staring over at him in astonishment.

“Did you… uh… maybe write a few extra _zeros_ on this?” Kira asked, looking close to fainting.

Stiles called out preemptively, “Before any of you go trying to be noble and say you ‘can’t accept’ it, don’t bother. I assure you, he is quite serious about this.”

“ _WHOA!_ What the hell, man?” Aiden jokingly griped as he looked over Lydia’s shoulder at the check in her hand. “I totally would have played guard dog and personal chef for Stiles if she’d told me she was knocked up. What do I get?”

Derek merely arched a brow in reply.

“Thank you, Derek. And it was no problem. Taking care of Stiles was our pleasure,” Allison said when she finished reading the eloquently written note of gratitude from the Alpha, trying to appear unaffected by his words as well as the jarring number on the check it contained.

Cora grinned over at her brother and said, “Yeah, of course we took care of her, butthead.”

Derek snorted and rolled his eyes, secretly thrilled that his kid sister was back in his life to share this with.

Lydia arched a brow, holding up her envelope gracefully as she teased, “You do realize, of course, that we will be using a _sizable_ chunk of this money to buy toys and clothes for your munchkin, right?”

The girls all chimed in with their agreement, squealing to one another.

Derek huffed a laugh and ducked his head as he fought to suppress a smile. “Well, that is completely your decision,” he conceded before looking back up at the group. “The point was for you each to be able to use the money for anything you wanted. Stiles informed me that you all would probably prefer this over anything we could buy at the mall.”

“Hells yeah!” Cora agreed.

“Abso-freaking-lutely,” Erica assured, holding up her check and kissing it.

“I am going to buy so many video games,” Kira grinned as she stared down at her check. 

“I’m buying _food_ ,” Malia declared happily. “So much food. _All_ the food. And a great big fur coat.”

“Fake fur only, Malia,” Lydia insisted.

The were-coyote pouted a bit, but grudgingly agreed. No point taking fur from an animal she would not even get to hunt and eat.

“So… shopping trip tomorrow?” Allison asked the group and they quickly became involved in making plans amongst themselves.

“How long before we can find out if it’s a girl or boy?” Erica demanded. “I need to know if I’m buying baby’s first leather _jacket_ or first leather _bustier_ ,” she joked.

“So… SO much nope, Erica,” Stiles said, cringing as the she-wolf cackled.

Peter chimed in to answer the question. “I don’t know what the timeline is for medical tests these days, but Derek and I will be able to tell by scent in a few weeks.” He barely finished the sentence before he was wincing at the excited squeals from the girls.

“There is one other thing,” Derek said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention again. “I have a project that I would like for Peter, Cora, and Lydia to oversee, if you’re interested,” he began, catching each of their gazes. “Considering the size of our pack… and the age of most of our members… our baby will likely be the first of _many_ new members we will be welcoming in the coming years… So, with that in mind, I want to rebuild our family home.”

There were several gasps of surprise, a few ‘ _aww!_ ’s, and Melissa was covering her mouth as she leaned into Noah’s side, everyone fully aware of how huge this was for Derek.

Taking a steadying breath, Derek reached down and took Stiles’ hand for support before going on. “It was something that I always figured I would do when the time was right and… this is the right time. We need a fresh start, to give our new pack and family a safe place to call home. So… Peter, Cora, Lydia… given your unique skill sets, I believe this project would be in the best hands if you three take point. What do you say?”

The three exchanged smiles.

“It would be an honor,” Peter declared sincerely.

Cora was too choked-up to speak, but she nodded to her big brother and gave him a watery grin.

“Consider it done, Alpha Hale,” Lydia assured respectfully, her pride at being trusted with something so vital to the pack plain in her gaze.

Derek inclined his head to them and took his seat. He sighed in relief when Stiles leaned back against him and urged him to wrap his arms around her.

“You did good, babe,” she whispered, patting his arm as he ducked his face into the nape of her neck.

_____________________________________________________

“Aiden and Jackson – less talking, more lifting!” Lydia shouted authoritatively.

“Are we _sure_ Lydia’s not an Alpha?” Noah joked later that evening as the Banshee supervised the reorganization of the upstairs rooms.

“I often wonder that same thing,” Derek chuckled. He was seated in the recliner downstairs with Stiles napping on his lap. He had already gone to the loft and packed up his bed. It was sitting outside of Stiles’ house in the box truck, wrapped in plastic to keep unwanted smells out, and waiting for the space to be clear.

Within twenty minutes, the furniture was relocated, and pack members were filtering downstairs, saying quiet ‘goodnight’s and heading out.

Lydia entered the living room and motioned for Cora to sit on the couch. “Okay, Derek, you can go ahead and hand Stiles over to Cora – trust me, she’s used to acting as Stiles’ naptime heater – and bring your bed inside. The sooner we get that taken care of, the sooner the two of you can sleep together in a real bed again.”

Derek nodded, eager to get to that point, and stood. He gently set Stiles down on the couch, her head resting on Cora’s lap.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s _you_ , the half-pint Hale,” Stiles joked when she focused on Cora’s face.

Cora snorted and started running her fingers through Stiles’ hair. “Shut up and go back to sleep, weirdo.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Stiles said with a grin and promptly passed out again.

Derek made quick work of offloading and setting his bed up. When he finished, he stood by the door and took it all in for a minute. The combination of his bed – now _their_ bed – in the middle of _Stiles’_ bedroom was jarring – an unexpected collision of two lives that had been orbiting one another for so long.

“Kinda makes it even more real, huh?” Noah commented knowingly as he stopped beside him.

Derek let out a long exhale and nodded. “Yeah. You could say that,” he laughed in wonder.

Noah put his hand on Derek’s shoulder and smiled over at him. “You two have got this. Between the two of you, there’s entirely too much stubborn for it to do anything other than all work out fine.”

Derek went downstairs to wake Stiles and say goodbye to the last few stragglers. When the house was finally shut down for the night and he led Stiles up to her – _their –_ bedroom, he stopped and laughed at what was waiting on the bedside table.

He could tell by scent that the new addition was a present from Lydia and Danny. He and Stiles walked over, and she peered over his shoulder as he lifted the picture frame up to get a better look. There were two images, both capturing the same scene: Stiles leaning back into Derek’s arms as he leaned down and kissed her sweetly. In the top photo, he was his 16-year-old self. The bottom photo had evidently been taken earlier that afternoon while they were sitting on the couch. Across the center of the images in flowing cursive were the words ‘ _A Love That Lasts Through the Ages_ …’

Stiles laughed and snuggled into his shoulder, sighing contentedly as he kissed her forehead.

Derek pulled the necklace off her eagerly, rumbling in approval when her unmasked scent filled the air. Without a word, he stripped them both down, beyond relieved to feel her bare skin against his own again. He scooped her up into his arms without warning, earning a squeal and laugh from her as he carried her over to the bed.

“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” Stiles asked with a smile once they were cuddled together under the covers.

“We are,” Derek confirmed happily, cupping her cheek. “And there’s no one I’d rather do it with.”

“Ha! You said, ‘ _do it’!”_ she snorted.

Derek groaned as he shook his head. “You are such an unbelievable dork,” he chuckled against her lips as he kissed her.

“Yeah, and you freaking love it,” she declared confidently.

“God help me, I do. I really, _really_ do,” he answered with a defeated sigh and frown.

It quickly dissolved into a grin when Stiles rolled him over onto his back and pounced on him.

“Hey!” he hissed as she started kissing her way down his chest. “Your Dad is still home!” he whispered in feigned disapproval. “We were going to wait until tomorrow morning, remember?”

Stiles flashed an ill-behaved smile and replied, “No. _You_ said you were going to wait until the morning for whatever you wanted to do to me. _I_ , on the other hand, merely mentioned when he would be at work. I never said that I planned on actually behaving in the interim.” She continued nipping her way down his abs, grinning victoriously as they tensed and shuddered in response. She muttered in amusement against his stomach, “I guess you’ll just have to be really quiet, huh? You’re a pro level sneak, right? Let’s put those stealth skills to the test, big guy.”

Derek bit his lips and focused on staying as silent as possible. He marveled over the fact that this was really his life now.

_Yeah_ , he decided as his head tipped back and jaw dropped, _he could get used to this_ …

______________________________________________________

**AUTHOR’S NOTE:** Well, that brings this story to a close! Thoughts? Loved it? Hated it? Favorite lines or scenes?

I am planning to return to this story’s universe at some point for a second and third part – one would take place over the course of the pregnancy, the next would be for what life is like after the baby is born.

I typically am a LOT more detailed with smut than I decided to go with this story. I decided to make this one fade to black for sex scenes – and I really have no idea why???? LOL I guess I just wanted to try it out. *shrugs* If you’re in the mood for a story of the same vein as this one, but with yummy, graphic smut included, you should check out my story ‘ _Of Boundaries and Bedroom Walls_.’ That one does not skimp on the sex. ; ) 

Thanks for reading! <3


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